The Marauders
by millie-mae
Summary: The Marauders seven years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, from the first train ride to the last.
1. The First Train Ride

As Remus John Lupin sat himself down in the empty compartment he looked around, hardly daring to believe that he was actually about to make the infamous journey on the Hogwarts express. Just crossing through the apparently brick barrier between platforms 9 and 10 had been enough to set his Mother off on one, reminiscing about her own school days. Remus however had remained silent through the countless tales of midnight feasts and strange goings on. He wasn't just nervous like most first years, he was genuinely frightened. Professor Dumbledore had assured him in a letter that everything had been arranged for his monthly transformations, and his mother and father had made him promise not to tell anyone, but what if they found out? This was the question floating round and around in Remus's head as the train slowly began to fill with students. Of course he already knew the answer: he'd be kicked out, parents would write in questioning Dumbledore's sanity, calling maybe even for his resignation. Regardless, they would refuse point blank at allowing their children around such a hideous monster. The pupils themselves would either run and hide, or jeer and taunt at him. And what if he bit someone, condemning them to a life like his? Would the ministry step in and 'put him down', claiming him to be a wild and dark creature? Lost in his own train of panicked thought he hardly heard another boy enter the compartment.

"Hello, I'm sorry do you mind if I sit here with you? It's just all the other compartments appear to have been filled with people I'd rather not be seen with." Seeing the quizzical and rather taken aback expression etched onto Remus's face, the boy quickly added "family friends, distant- well distant-ish relatives and Slytherins. Don't worry, I'm not offending anyone important." He grinned as Remus just sat there looking at the boy. His messy, unkempt hair almost matched the young werewolf's apart from in its deep black colour. The scruffy stranger, what with his seemingly contradictory perfectly tailored robes and charismatic smile somehow managed to pull this look off. The same could not be said for Remus whose hair, coupled with his sickly complexion and guarded posture, made him look shabby and unapproachable.

"Oh, um, yes," Remus said nervously, "yes, just um, yes, come in." The boy comfortably settled himself down as Remus awkwardly looked at the ground, trying to think of what to say next.

"My name's James," said the boy, "James Potter." Remus nodded at him, briefly making eye contact before returning to staring at the floor.

"And what's yours?" James asked, adding after a brief silence, "What's your name?"

"Remus Lupin."

"Well I am very pleased to meet you Remus Lupin," James said, holding out his hand almost comically for Remus to shake. Remus laughed at this and shook it immediately.

"So, Remus, what house do you-" James however stopped speaking, allowing his sentence to trail off as the sound first of hurried footsteps, and then muffled sobs, came from outside their carriage compartment. Remus shot James an uncertain look, hesitant as to how to react. James however appeared less perturbed and quickly stood up, quickly glancing out of the carriage window before sliding open the door, revealing a small girl crying in the corridor. Her startled green eyes looked directly into his.

James smiled at her, "Are you ok?" She nodded, hurriedly wiping her eyes. "No you're not. You're crying."

Remus looked worriedly at the small red head, expecting what James had just said to upset her further. But there was genuine comfort in his voice and so, still gazing into his eyes, she gave him a small smile.

"If you want you can come in and join us, it's only me and Remus in here." The girl peered into the carriage, worriedly glancing at Remus. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite." Oblivious to Remus's lurching stomach she gave a small laugh and walked in, seating herself between James and the window.

"I'm Lily, by the way," she said, nervously tripping over the words, "Lily Evans."

"James."

"Remus." They all smiled at each other for a brief moment before Remus took a small chocolate bar out of his pocket, broke it up, and handed a piece to both of his new friends.

"Can I have a bite?" Remus looked up suddenly, startled by the new voice. A rather tall boy stood in the adjacent doorway, smiling down at them uneasily. "And possibly a seat," he added with a slightly nervous laugh.

James grinned at him and indicated to the space next to Remus. "Please, be my guest." Remus shuffled up to the window to make space for the boy as he hauled his large, dark green trunk onto the luggage rail.

"I'm Remus," Remus said, smiling at the new passenger, "and yes, of course you can have some of my chocolate."

"Thanks,' he said, gratefully stuffing the chocolate into his mouth. 'I'm Sirius and, well, I actually know your names – I could hear you introducing yourselves out in the corridor," he continued, slightly apologetic. "So would that make you James and you Lily?" His grey eyes darted questioningly at the girl and the boy opposite him. "Or have I got it the wrong way around and, in fact, have in front of me a very masculine Lily and feminine James?"

James smiled at him, laughed and shook his head. "No, you're right, don't worry."

A frown however formed on Sirius' face. "You wouldn't happen to be Lily Evans would you? It's just there's this boy who's going up and down the corridor looking in various carriages, and I think he's trying to find you. He said his name was Sniverus or something? Snivillus Snarp?" Just as Sirius finished speaking the carriage door burst open, revealing a boy already dressed in his dark Hogwarts uniform.

"Have you seen a small ginger - Lily!" he exclaimed, stumbling into the carriage, taking the seat next to Sirius, directly in front of the red headed girl. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Wait, Lily, have you been crying?"

"I don't want to talk to you," Lily said abruptly, automatically re-wiping the tears away from her eyes. Remus, Sirius and James looked in bewilderment between Lily and greasy haired intruder.

"Why not?"

"Tuney h - hates me because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

Letter from Dumbledore? Remus glanced in horror at the small girl, mind racing and heart pounding. He knew that all students generally received letters from Professor McGonagall, but Professor Dumbledore? He had been led to believe that this only happened in certain circumstances, such as his own. Did this mean that there was there another werewolf on the train? Had they kept their letter with them and been discovered? Would he be discovered too? Remus clasped his sweaty hands, panicking, wondering if it was too late to get off the train and run home.

"So what?" the argument continued.

"So she's my sister!"

Sister? Remus's panic faded slightly. Was her sister secretly a werewolf and she'd only just found out about it? No. Siblings don't keep secrets - well, not like that. On a purely pragmatic level it would be near impossible. As he regained his composure, attempted to cast the thought from his mind, the train gave a sudden lurch and started moving forwards.

"But we're going! This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!" The greasy haired boy was unable to suppress the exhilaration from his voice as he grinned at Lily, who couldn't help but give a small grin back.

"You'd better be in Slytherin." Lily smiled further at this and nodded.

"Slytherin?" James couldn't help but keep the distain out of his voice, visibly hurt that the girl had sided with the odd boy. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

Sirius gave James an uncomfortable glance. "My whole family have been in Slytherin."

"Blimey. And I thought you seemed all right!" James said, looking him up and down quizzically.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition." Sirius grinned as he said this, but Remus sensed an underlying fear in his voice.

"Where are you heading if you have the choice?"

James stood up and lifted an invisible sword, "_Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! _Like my Dad." He aimed this directly at the greasy haired boy who made a disparaging noise. "Got a problem with that?"

"No… If you'd rather be brawny than brainy…"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius, causing James to roar with laughter. Lily glared at the two boys with sudden dislike,

"Come on Severus, let's find another compartment." Lily stood up, pulling Severus with her as the boys imitated her lofty voice.

"See ya, Snivellus!" James called out as the compartment door slammed shut. Remus silently looked between the two boys.

"What?" Sirius asked accusatively.

"I think you took that a bit far," he mumbled.

"Look Remus, it's their fault. We were nothing but nice to that red head when she was all upset, and she just goes and throws it in our faces when her little high and mighty boyfriend came along," James explained as Sirius nodded whole heartedly. "We gave as good as we got – actually I would say that what we gave was of significantly better quality. That was a very quick comeback Sirius, your line about him being neither brainy nor brawny. I was quite impressed." The two boys beamed at each other as an unsatisfied Remus settled himself down in his seat, preparing for the long train ride ahead to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	2. The Boats

The train journey had been a long one, but as it had been filled with wizard chess, Bertie Botts' Every Flavoured Beans and countless games of Exploding Snap it had been thoroughly enjoyable. Remus, James and Sirius all traipsed off the train in high spirits and started to follow the throng of first year students making their way towards what looked, quite simply, to be a giant. The fierce looking man had long, straggly hair and flailing arms with enormous hands that clutched an old, grubby lamp. This vicious image was betrayed however by a warm smile, making him immediately likeable.

"Firs' years! Firs' years, this way! Firs' years follow me!" he called out in a booming voice as students continued to pour off the train. James grinned at Sirius and Remus as the first years all swamped around the giant and huddled together, teeth chattering from the cold. Once the large man had counted the students, checking everyone had got off the train, he proceeded to lead them away from the main body of pupils, down a muddy slope and onto a narrow path. Remus assumed that they were going through a wood or some kind of forested area, as there were branches on either side that nipped at his robes and bare hands, but it was too dark to tell. They all trudged gradually down the steep path until the enormous man made a sudden sharp turn.

"Yer abou' to get yer firs' glimpse of Hogwar's," he said cheerfully. James, Sirius and some of the more excited members of the group surged forwards. Remus however hung back slightly; he was strangely nervous about seeing the school. He had heard so much about it and pictured it so often that when he finally stepped forwards and saw it illuminated against the dark, moonlit sky, it seemed surreal. He was not the only first year gawping at the castle. It was perfectly perched on the top of a mountain and sported a variety of ancient towers and turrets. It looked picturesque, like something out of a muggle fairy tale.

"Blimey," said James. Remus looked at the boy's awestruck face and grinned, pleased that he was not the only member of their group to have been so overwhelmed by the castle's presence. James' face however quickly turned from one of admiration and wonder to an unsatisfied frown as he studied the murky water that lay before them.

"All righ' firs'years, settle down for one momen'. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, and I'm the groundskeeper at Hogwar's," he said proudly to his hushed audience. "Now, it's no more'n four to a boat so if you'd like to ge' yourselves seated and we'll be off!"

James facial expression changed again, this time to a sly grin as he eyed the convoy of small boats Hagrid had referred to. He made a hasty, apologetic excuse to Remus, promising to see him up at the school before whispering something quickly to Sirius and the two of them scampered off with mischievous smirks imprinted on their faces. Remus could hardly stifle his laughter when he later saw them eagerly sitting in the same boat as a disgruntled Lily Evans and Severus Snape.

...

"Do you think that this boat is stable, Sirius?" asked James playfully as the boats magically sped towards Hogwarts.

"Oh I'm not sure about that James; it feels like it could break at any moment," Sirius said solemnly, stamping his foot down rather hard on the bottom of the boat, causing it to wobble slightly.

"Yes, it does seem rather old now that you mention it. I'm sure it's very easy to capsize it, too."

"Yes, especially if we do this to it." The two friends beamed down at Lily and Severus as they began to rock the boat from side to side. The only response they got from Lily's stony face was a cold, hard stare, but this left them unperturbed as Severus had already panicked, dramatically shielding his head with his arms. They laughed and continued to rock the boat harder and harder, causing water to splash into it and terror to seep into Lily's bottle green eyes.

"Sirius, stop!" James shouted suddenly, realising the fear they were causing for their two companions.

"Huh?" said Sirius quizzically, giving the small boat one final heave.

Lily's gasp, Severus' high pitched scream and James and Sirius's fantastic swearing was only momentary as the four students promptly tumbled into the dark depths of the lake. They were submerged for another short burst of time before resurfacing. This, however, was long enough for James and Sirius to get over the initial shock of the situation and decide that, all in all, it had been the perfect way to start at their new school. They quickly grinned at each other before swimming off to clamber on board another boat to be greeted like heroes. Lily also immediately swam over to a nearby boat and was instantaneously helped up by all three girls aboard it. Severus, however, could not swim. He hopelessly thrashed about in the water, every time he went under there was a collective gasp from the audience of the now stationary boats. The first years all looked towards Hagrid for help but, apart from mumbling about how he wished he had bought his umbrella, he seemed unable to do much else. As Severus began to splutter and his movements weakened, James quickly stood up and jumped again into the dark water, provoking several gasps of admiration. With a few powerful strokes, he was able to swim over to the dramatically drowning Severus. Putting his arms around the boy's waist, James was able to pull him up, allowing him to take a deep breath before lowering him back into the water. James had hoped that by now Severus would have gotten over the original shock and be able to swim back to the boat without any assistance, but the boys' renewed thrashing proved otherwise. James once again grabbed the boy around the waist, this time dragging him back to the boat where Sirius and a rather chubby boy with mousey brown hair promptly helped them up. Severus then frantically coughed up a lot of water, glowered at James and then turned bright red, realising that the whole year had been watching him. Needless to say that by the time they arrived at Hogwarts the whole year thought that James Potter was a hero. Well, almost.

...

"James Potter, Sirius Black, Severus Snape and Lily Evans – why, may I ask, are you all so wet?" James looked up at the stern witch questioning him, desperately trying to think up a decent excuse. After almost drowning and then rescuing Snape, the first years had finished their boat ride and arrived at the castle before gathering on the stone steps in front of a huge oak door. Hagrid had then knocked on the door and the stern witch had opened it as, James assumed, was the normal procedure. She was obviously intent on welcoming the first years but was stopped in her tracks when she had noticed the state that four of the students were in.

"Must I ask you again?" Her face was contorted with a mixture of worry and anger. "Why are you all so wet?" She had aimed this directly at James, but he simply smiled back, aggravating her further and causing her dark eyebrows to arch ever so slightly. She turned her gaze to Sirius who attempted to give an equally confident smirk, but faltered slightly under the Professor's intense and penetrating stare. Still, the boy refused to speak and, realising that she would be unable to extract any real information from them, the witch sharply turned on her heels and went over to where Hagrid was standing. James watched them with a nervous anticipation as Hagrid explained to the stern witch what had happened on the lake. She nodded curtly and made her way back towards the first years, stopping again in front of the group and sharply clearing her throat.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting Ceremony –" She continued like nothing had happened into what seemed to be a very well rehearsed speech. In fact, it wouldn't have surprised James if she said the exact same thing every year. As she talked the Professor revealed basic information that James already knew, so he let his mind wander around the large room, which was really, now he thought about it, more of a hallway. He did this for quite some time, examining and making faces at various portraits, until he received an unpleasant shock when he found the Professor's eyes looking directly at him.

"Mr Potter and Mr Black.'

'Yes?' Sirius said automatically.

'Congratulations on becoming the youngest students ever to receive a deduction of ten House Points each. I really don't think we have ever, in the history of Hogwarts, had a student lose house points before actually belonging to a House. I just hope to Merlin that neither of you are a Gryffindor." She then once again turned on her heels and waved her wand, drying the four wet students, before opening the doors into the Great Hall.

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><p><strong>AN: hello again :) can I just thank everyone for the lovely comments and for favouriting and subscribing (putting it on their alert things) this story :) it really means a lot :) also I was wondering what people thought I should do for the sorting- should I just do it from one characters pov or switch to whoever has the sorting hat on so we can hear what happens? :) anyways, enjoy the chapter and please tell me what you think (constructive critisism is always welcome) :)<strong>

**~millie-mae**


	3. The Sorting

The first year students felt hundreds of eyes on them as they entered the great hall. Some gave friendly smiles and waves to relatives, but the vast majority just kept nervously ambling forwards until they formed into a huddle near the top of the hall. This gave James the opportunity to take in his surroundings properly for the first time. The hall had been modestly decorated with hovering candles that warmly lit up the castle, giving James a pleasant sense of ease. The only other source of light came from the ceiling that had been bewitched to look like the moonlit sky. The stars shone, twinkling above students and teachers heads alike. Gently floating in the misty air were small wisps of cloud, oddly resembling the translucent Ghosts that were seated at various house tables. James looked towards his friend to comment upon this, but was shocked to see that Sirius's confident exterior had vanished, making way for a more self conscious boy who stared at the floor and adjusted his robes every two seconds. James also had the distinct impression that Sirius was trying to block out the constant stares and glances coming from the Slytherin table, as he had turned his back on them ever so slightly.

"Sirius, mate, what's up?"

Sirius raised his head slightly, not quite daring to look into James's eyes. "I am quite literally shitting myself."

"I hope not, I heard those stains are quite hard to remove," James joked, but when Sirius's mouth only twitched slightly he added "Sirius look, it's not like-" but he was cut off as the hat sitting on the rickety stall in front of them began to sing. The first years all looked on, bewildered, as it explained in song the process of sorting them.

"So we just need to try on a singing hat, it's not exactly fighting dragons is it!" James whispered to Sirius, who gave him a weak smile as the rest of the hall clapped the end of the sorting hats song. Professor McGonagall then promptly stood up next to the huddled first years and took out a scroll.

"Adams, Alexandra," She called out as a smiling first year stumbled up towards the stool. After jamming the hat over her loose, blonde, curls a silence took over. James could see the girl's lips just moving, as if she was having some sort of whispered conversation with the hat who, in turn, seemed to be frowning. A minute or two went by and just as James was starting to get bored the hat opened its brim and called out: "Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table cheered as she ran down to take her seat next to an equally blond prefect who, due to their striking resemblance, James could only assume to be her sister. McGonagall then proceeded to call out the names of "Aubrey, Betram" who became the first Ravenclaw and "Avery, Harrison", the first Slytherin. She then waited as the Slytherin table quietened down to call out,

"Black, Sirius."

A burst of premature cheering erupted from the Slytherins table as James's jaw dropped. Sirius was a Black? He knew all his family were Slytherins, but not that they were Blacks. What with their pure blood mania, their self-obsessed superiority and their dealing in the dark arts, to be Black was to be in a whole different league. It was families like the Blacks, the Lestranges and the Malfoys whom the Potter men and women prided themselves on being against. Each generation had famously made enemies out of each other whilst attending Hogwarts, it was almost a tradition. His father and His father before him had done it, and he assumed that he, and any future generations would too. But there was Sirius Black, his friend, sitting on the stool trying to look confident, but desperately looking to James for some sign of reassurance and acceptance. James immediately grinned up at him, putting his thumbs up and crossing his fingers.

…

Sirius saw James's thumbs up before Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his shiny mop of black hair, obscuring his view and filling his head with a voice.

_Ahh, a child of 'the most noble and ancient house of Black', well I know what to do with you…_

'No,' Sirius thought automatically

_No? Ahh, I see. No, that would be too hasty, wouldn't it. Your head is filled with many things, most of which are unsuited to Slytherin. But then again you are shrewd, determined and I certainly sense a disregard to the rules… Slytherin could make you great you know..._

'No,' Sirius thought with such determination that he almost wondered if he was simply proving the sorting hats point.

_No then. Let's see… You are loyal, a Hufflepuff perhaps? But, alas hardworking and patient you are not. _

Sirius smirked at this.

_You are clever though, yes, you certainly possess wit, creativity and an individuality any Ravenclaw would be proud of. But then again you are brave and daring and courageous, really you should be placed in-_

…

"Gryffindor!" the sorting hats voice echoed around the room as the cheers from the Slytherin table abruptly stopped, filling the hall with a desolate silence. Sirius sat there, the hat still perched on top of his head, unsure of what to do as he gazed down at the suspicious Gryffindors glaring back. There was a moment of complete silence as Sirius stayed rooted to his seat, unable to move. James watched his friend from the throng of first years, desperately thinking of someway to help.

But this was unnecessary as a slightly large boy to his left chose this precise moment to fall over. James wasn't quite sure how he did it, as he had been standing still at the time, but sure enough the tubby boy fell onto the floor, taking a small girl with him and landing awkwardly on top of her. The whole school descended into laughter as the girl and boy rolled around on the floor trying to get up. By the time they had pulled themselves to their feet, both red faced and extremely embarrassed, Sirius had left the stool and made his way down to take a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Brucknell, John." And the sorting continued. James once again allowed his eyes to wonder around the hall, until he was snapped out of his dreamy state by a familiar name.

"Evans, Lily." As the small ginger girl from the train made her way up to the sorting hat James felt a small sense of nervousness. What was even more shocking was that only a few moments after the sorting hat had touched her dark red hair and called out _"Gryffindor!"_James felt a sense of relief, even a tingle of happiness. These were indescribable feelings as James felt nothing good for the girl and the prospect of being in the same house wasn't exactly a pleasing one. Yet, in the very back of his mind, or in the very depths of his heart, the feeling was good. The same could not be said for Severus Snape who had let out a tiny groan behind James and, despite repeatedly blinking, hadn't managed to stop a tear rolling down his cheek.

James once again lost interest in the sorting as a long stream of people he barely knew, or didn't want to even admit he knew, were sorted into various houses. Remus, one of the boys from the train, had been sorted into Gryffindor, but even this didn't really catch James's attention as he had assumed that this would be the sorting hats decision all along. Remus, however, was utterly thrilled as a small part of him had dreaded that the sorting hat would refuse to sort him at all on the basis of him being a werewolf. If Remus was honest he wouldn't have minded being sorted into any house, even Slytherin, as just being at Hogwarts at all was fantastic. In fact, he had almost assumed that he would be going into Slytherin due to being deemed by most to be a 'dark creature'. But he was in Gryffindor! A house where he already had one friend, and was sure that another was soon to follow. Indeed, when Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat on James Potters head it had barely touched his dark, unruly hair before shouting "Gryffindor!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: hello again :) I hope your all proud of me for getting this up so quickly :) unfortunatly it will probably take a little more time to write the next one as I have decided to completly abandon what's left of what I originally wrote :) so yeh, I hope you enjoyed my attempt at the sorting (oh and thanks for all the reviews *hint* *hint* haha :) but honestly, hearing feedback is always really encouraging so thank you) :)<strong>

**~millie-mae**


	4. The Other Boy

The feast that followed had been delicious. Remus had never seen so much food in his life and was spoilt for choice: there were at least twenty different kinds of fish, some of which he'd never even heard of. He wasn't even able to finish what he did put on his plate, leaving a mountain of mashed potato alongside a little bit of chicken. One boy who did eat everything however was Peter Pettigrew, the rounded boy who had fallen over during the sorting ceremony. He had also been sorted into Gryffindor and later, whilst introducing themselves back in their new dormitory, he revealed that he had gone back for fifths on the main course and fourths on the desserts. His small, piggy eyes lit up with delight as he described the different kinds of foods he had eaten. James and Sirius exchanged a series of looks and, whilst unnoticed by Peter, Remus quickly caught onto the boys non-verbal exchanges.

"So, everyone happy to be in Gryffindor?" He said, cutting across Peter, who gave him a hurt look.

"Of course!" James said, laughing at the absurdity of the question.

"My mother is not going to be happy," Sirius muttered, but with a gleam in his eye and smirk on his face. James laughed at this and looked towards a fifth boy with pouty lips who hadn't said much.

"What about you Colin?"

"Well it was the obvious choice wasn't it?" the boy drawled, wiping his blond fringe from his face. "I mean, Hufflepuff was always beneath me and, being a muggleborn, I was never going to end up in Slytherin. Gryffindor is generally considered to be the best house and, well," he gave a short, pompous laugh, "I am also considered to be the best. It's really no wonder that the sorting hat placed me here. Although," he added thoughtfully, "I obviously have the brains of a Ravenclaw, so that would have been the second choice."

"He certainly has the self-centred superiority of a Slytherin." James muttered under his breath, causing Sirius to stifle a laugh. "The Hufflepuffs are a good bunch though you know."

Colin raised his dark eyebrows and looked at James in a piteous and patronising way. "Did the Sorting hat almost sort you into that house?" He asked in what he must have assumed sounded like a sympathetic voice. "Because that's o, just because they are all a bunch of duffers, it doesn't mean that you are too."

"How do you know so much about the houses if you're a muggle born?" Interjected Remus as James opened his mouth to retaliate.

"Well I talked to a lot of people on the train and I did a lot of background reading on Hogwarts. I must say that Hogwarts a History is a marvellous read, I would thoroughly recommend it." But then he gave James and Sirius a demeaning look as if to show that he highly doubted the fact that they could read.

"If you want I could lend it to you, Remus." The young werewolf gave the boy a small smile before turning to see James giving him a funny look.

"Really, it is quite interesting," He added in an insistent tone.

"I'm sure it is," Remus said kindly, once again realising that the conversation had gone badly.

"Well,' Colin said after a momentary silence, 'I'm sure that we are going to have a busy day tomorrow, so I think it would be best if we all got some sleep." Sirius looked at him like he had gone mad, but Colin stood up and made his way over to the lights.

"Well night chaps." And with that Colin blew out the lights and Remus shut his eyes, waiting for the dull lull of sleep to take over.

...

"Lumase!" James muttered under the thick, heavy blanket. "Lumin!" He shook his wand vigorously, producing a few sparks, but no desirable effect. Cursing the fact he was unable to remember the spell his parents so often used, James resorted to making his way over to Sirius's bed in the pitch black, banging his foot against someone's trunk as he went.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself as he felt the dull pain in the tips of his toes spread. "Merlin that hurt."

James paused for a moment, allowing the pain to settle before continuing his adventure, precariously jumping over various other items strewn across the floor. He eventually reached Sirius's bed to discover the boy fast asleep. James sighed loudly and, extending his index finger slowly, he proceeded to poke Sirius's stomach. At first this was just a gentle prod, but as Sirius didn't stir James got more and more violent, eventually resorting to slapping his new friends face in order to wake him. Sirius's grey eyes snapped open at once and his eyebrows narrowed, forming a questioning frown.

"It's time."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I am sorry as not much happened in this chapter, I will try and make it more eventful next time :) So, what did you think of colin? like him, hate him, feel like he ruins the plot etc? I am trying to keep to the main story line as strictly as possible (although i must admit a bit of reumssirius slash is still very tempting- again would love to hear your thoughts?**update: I'm sorry to all wolfstar fans, but I've decided against this),** but I thought it was plausible that they would have had another boy in their year? anyways I have DofE this weekend (duke of edinbourgh where you have to hike across a load of land (whilst carrying all your stuff), camp and then walk home again)so I probably won't post again until Monday, sorry :(**

**~millie-mae**


	5. Feathers and Jam

Colin Jackson hadn't anticipated waking up for his first mourning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry smeared in jam, but then again he hadn't quite expected to be covered in feathers either. As he lay in the sticky mess, wondering quite how it had all happened, James and Sirius were doing their best not to laugh as they quietly snuck out of the dormitory. They were however unsuccessful in this endeavour as, once they had shut the door behind them, they both burst out laughing before running down the stairs to go to breakfast. Indeed, by the time Peter, Remus and a slightly sticky, not so happy, Colin turned up to the Great Hall they were still chuckling. James looked up as the three boys entered, beckoning for them to come over.

"Hey Colin, I've got a joke for you," he said as Remus, Peter and Colin sat themselves down in the opposite seats and started to pile their plates with food.

"Why was the baby strawberry sad?" Colin gave him a look of thunder and said nothing.

"Come on Colin, Why was the baby strawberry sad?" James repeated in an insistent tone.

"I don't know" Colin responded, chopping up his sausages in an irritated fashion, "why was the baby strawberry so sad?"

"Because his mother and farther were stuck in a jam!" James laughed loudly at his joke whilst Sirius sat beside him cringing.

"That's not even remotely funny," Colin said stiffly.

"Ohh, bit of a sensitive subject is it, being stuck in a jam?" James joked. At this Colin slammed down his fork and stood up, glaring at James as he did so, before walking out of the hall.

"Probably off to get a teacher," Sirius commented. James nodded in response, feeling his stomach sink as he watched the boy leave. Admittedly he hadn't expected Colin to enjoy waking up to find himself smeared in jam and doused in feathers, but he had assumed that the boy would eventually laugh it off, perhaps even retaliate. James had viewed the prank as an ice breaker, something to get a good conversation going, not a form of humiliation or belittlement. He felt Sirius nudge him as Colin re-entered the great hall, accompanied by Professor McGonagall. They both watched nervously as the Professor neared the table. Her face, what with its taught, thin mouth and piercing eyes, was easy to read.

"Mr Potter, Mr Black and Mr Pettigrew, would you care to explain why Colin Jackson woke up this morning to find himself covered in strawberry jam and feathers?" She said, giving each boy a stern, disapproving look as she said their names, making Peter tremble in his seat.

"Professor, Peter had nothing to do with this, I swear," James said immediately, giving the terrified boy a reassuring glance.

"After yours and Mr Blacks antics during the boat ride yesterday I would have believed you, were it not for the fact that Mr Jackson said that he was involved. I do not make my accusations based purely on mere guess work Mr Potter," McGonagall said sharply.

"But he wasn't involved!" James shouted in disbelief, alerting the entire Gryffindor table to their conversation. "I mean, how would he even know who did it?!"

"Mr Jackson said that he was woken up during the night to find yourself and Mr Black aggressively holding him down as Mr Pettigrew smothered him in jam and then proceeded to dump a bag of feathers over him. Unless you attempted to perform a confundus charm or obliviate the memory from his mind, how would he not know who did this to him?" Her nostrils flared slightly as she said this.

"Professor that's not what happened," Sirius said loudly, astounded at what she was saying, barely noticing the looks he was getting from the surrounding students.

"Honestly Professor" James said, looking her in the eye with a tone of absolute sincerity. "I swear, that is not what happened."

"Then how do you explain the feathers and jam currently residing in his bed sheets?"

"Well, yes, we did cover him in jam – me and Sirius that is, not Peter, Peter had nothing to do with it. But we did it at night, when he was asleep, we didn't pin Colin down and it was meant to be joke, a laugh not-"

"-not a traumatising experience mirroring the horror you caused both Miss Evans and Mr Snape last night on the boat," McGonagall finished, leaving James gaping up at her, lost for words. "Mr Potter, Mr Black and Mr Pettigrew I am deducting fifteen house points each. You are also to clear up the mess you made by hand, I will organise a house elf to leave the essential equipment in you dormitory and I expect you to have cleaned Mr Jackson's bed and other jam covered items by tomorrow. But let this be a lesson that bullying is not tolerated at Hogwarts." She gave each boy a stern look before handing out pieces of parchment. "I had also come to issue you with your timetables for this year," she tapped each one individually with her wand. "You have potions first thing with Professor Slughorn so eat quickly and try not to be late, I do not want you loosing Gryffindor any more house points."

Once McGonagall had moved further down the table to hand out more timetables and the spectators had mostly grown bored and looked away James, Sirius, Peter and Remus turned to look incredulously at Colin. The boy smirked back at them, wiping his blond fringe out of his eyes before sitting down, resuming his place at the Gryffindor table.

"What the hell?" said James with intense disgust. "What the actual hell Colin? Peter had nothing to do with it."

"Oh didn't he? Well that's a pity," Colin said without even an ounce of remorse. "Well I am sorry then Peter, you're just collateral damage I suppose."

"That's alright," Peter mumbled automatically as he tried to hide his watery eyes.

"No, it's not," Sirius said. "And neither is making out that James and I are bullies and that we meant to hurt or scare you – it was a joke, ok, a joke."

"Well maybe telling McGonagall you did it was a joke too. It was a joke, ok, a joke" he said, attempting to imitate Sirius. "I certainly laughed."

"Look, Colin,' James began, 'maybe what we did to you wasn't fair. Maybe. And maybe we deserved what we got-" Sirius shot James a sceptical look as he said this, "-But you can't go getting Peter into trouble for something he didn't do."

"Well it looks like I just did."

James opened his mouth to retaliate but Colin cut across him, "Now it was lovely talking to you chaps, but I really must dash, I don't want to miss double potions." And with that he swept his fringe out of his face, gathered his books, took one last mouthful of breakfast and walked out of the great hall, leaving Sirius, Remus, Peter and James open mouthed in disbelief.

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><p><strong>AN: I am so sorry that this is so rushed (I havn't actually read back through it yet so im sorry if everything a bit hectic), it's just I hadn't updated since friday and after updating everyday since restarting with this I though that you all might be getting a little worried :) I am afraid that as my exams get closer and closer this might be happening more often as I am having to face the harsh reality that I need to revise, so have less time to write or check back through it. I can't decide whether you would prefer me to update whenever possible (even if it's unedited shit) and then gradually edit the chapter once it's up or if I should take my time in writing and editing and then only upload when its the finished (for now) version? if you have an opinion please tell me as it would really help (also do you think I need to edit this majorly, as its mostly just speech, or does it just need a little tweaking?). anyways thankyou so much for the reviews (they are what made me write this so quickly) it's always really nice to get feedback and I welcome constructive criticism (especially for this chapter) so thank you and sorry again for this all being so hectic :)<strong>

**~millie-mae**


	6. The First Lesson

The four boys sat in silence watching Collin exit the Great Hall, each not quite sure what to say or make of his actions.

"Well that was rather unexpected," James said finally, giving his friends a weak smile,"And Peter, don't worry" he added, looking in concern at the rounded boys' ghost white face, "it's only a few house points and you don't have to do any of the cleaning, Sirius and I will do it all." Peter nodded in response, still clasping his hands nervously and mumbling about his mother's reaction.

"I can help," Remus offered.

"No Remus, you didn't do anything, this is mine and James's mess not-"

"- no I can help. I know a spell that cleans up mess, my Mum uses it all the time round the house."

"Brilliant!" James and Sirius said simultaneously, quickly looking at each other in astonishment and grinning.

"It's fine guys, seriously" Remus said, smiling.

"Sirius-ly" Sirius said with a grin. There was a long, silent pause where even James rolled his eyes. "Sirius-ly. Get it? Sirius-ly" he repeated, leaving a long gap between his name and the 'ly'.

"Because, you see, my name is Sirius, and Remus said seriously which sounds like my name so-"

"-we get it Sirius." James interrupted, cutting across the rambling explanation. "Sirius-ly we get it," he added with a grin, before looking down at his watch.

"Merlin," he muttered, "Right, guys, hurry up, we're already late."

After downing their pumpkin juice and gulping the last few spoonful's' of breakfast down, they grabbed their bags and books and legged it to the dungeons, knocking down three older students in their wake. They eventually turned up for class only ten minutes late- not that it mattered, the Potions Master didn't start the class until fifteen minutes in. This gave the boys time to settle down, seating themselves as far away from the Slytherins as possible. This, however, meant that they had to sit near the Gryffindor girls and Colin. The Gryffindor Girls were an odd lot and James noted immediately that the red head from the train ride had managed to befriend all of them. Catching James's hazel eyes staring at her Lily looked back with an accusative, but partly curious look. Following her gaze the other girls also looked angrily towards him.

"Alright Ladies, keep your wigs on." Sirius chuckled, making a point to look at each of them in turn. Although they were severely disgruntled by this the girls didn't give Sirius the same angry look they had given James, instead they looked him up and down before turning their heads dramatically, returning to their conversation. However, every time Sirius looked over in the girl's direction he would catch a pair of wandering eyes looking back at him. Bemused by this attention he turned to tell James, but was abruptly interrupted by the Potions Professor, a rather portly man with a startling green bow tie.

"Settle down class, settle down. Now I would like to introduce you all to the fantastic world of potions. My name is Professor Slughorn." He said, turning to write it on the board, "And I am going to be teaching you this marvellous subject."

The lesson ended up just being one long speech from the rounded professor based more on his previous pupils and current student's famous relatives than the subject itself. James and Sirius, after answering brief questions about their own ancestry, made great use of the lesson time plotting revenge on Colin. Peter and Remus were not so lucky however as the pair had been unable to sit together. Slughorn had sent Peter back to the dormitory to get changed (during breakfast he had been in such a rush that he spilt everything down him), leaving his seat to be taken by Mary Macdonald, a shy, short haired brunet who didn't speak to Remus once during the whole lesson. Their eyes had awkwardly met a couple of times, turning them both bright red and making Remus feel a little hot, but apart from that there was no other contact. It wasn't that she was a girl, Remus thought to himself; more that he didn't know her or how to start the conversation. He had been just as nervous around James hadn't he? Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind he sat back on his chair and looked towards James and Sirius, longing to join their conversation. But, as Slughorn drawled on and on he realised that this was not a possibility and resigned himself to doodling on a scrap of old paper until the end of the lesson.

"Well, that was fun wasn't it?" He said sarcastically as the boys made their way out of the dudgeons. Peter mumbled an agreement, commenting on having to sit next to a girl.

"It could be worse Peter, that Lily Evans sat next to a Slytherin, the one from the train."

Peter gave him a confused look, having not been in the same carriage.

"The greasy haired, long nosed one," James said bitterly, "match made in heaven they are." Peter nodded, clearly still having no clue to which pupil James was referring to. There was an awkward silence as the conversation died and James started walking in a slightly frustrated manor towards their next lesson.

"What's next?" Sirius asked casually, trying to diffuse the sudden tension.

"Defence against the Dark Arts." Peter replied, dubiously checking his timetable- a task harder than it sounded as during the mourning's rushed breakfast he had managed to cover it in all manner of foods.

"Good," said James, "I heard the Professor is good."

"I thought she was new this year?"

"Yeah, but she was in last week's prophet, it was an article my dad showed me about Hogwarts. It kept going on about how lucky the school was to have her." The boys looked expectantly at James as he explained the article in greater detail, talking about her 'practical' and 'hands on' approach to defence against the dark arts, heightening their expectation of the subject and teacher as they neared the classroom. Indeed, even James and Sirius found themselves almost excited for a lesson. They opened the door and walked in, spotting the Professor immediately. She sat on her desk smoking a cigarette, the wisps of smoke getting lost in her tangle of limp blond curls.

"Hello boys," She slurred.

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><p><strong>AN: so what are your first thoughts on the new DADA teacher? and what did you think (as always I would love to know). Also, can I just say that I'mm sorry as the story isnt that interesting yet, but I promise I'm just 'setting the scene' and all that, I will give you an actual (hopefully) exciting story (also in response to potterhead1997 I will definitely do a lot of chapters from remus, peter, lily and (once I've introduced them properly) OC's pov). so yeh :) please review, favourite, share etc<strong>

**~millie-mae**

**p.s. I will get around to editing the last chapter soonish (probably when I get writers block and I don't have exams)**

**p.p.s. also I always forget to say this but:**

**a) I'm obviously not jk rowling so I don't own anything she created with that brilliant mind of hers (characters, spells, hogwarts etc) :)**

**and**

**b) thankyou for reading, it means a lot :)**

**p.p.p.s to woo: haha thankyou, I actually didn't notice I did that, but you will be pleased to hear that I corrected all lone I's in this chapter :)**


	7. Professor Slueter

The four boys stood still in shock as the drunken teacher slid off her desk in an inelegant manor and staggered towards them, precariously hugging each of them in turn. Other Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students began to filter into the classroom, receiving the same drunken greeting. James noted how each student recoiled from her breath and made a firm mental note to never ever drink or smoke.

"Right, well… sit yourselves down," She slurred as she herself slumped into her dark green chair and put out her cigarette. "My name" She said, theatrically pointing to herself in a way that was suitable for her intoxicated state. "issss Professsor Sluuuue-ter." She then sunk lower into her chair. "Right. Page 42, the baat boo-gey hex. I waant you to reead and practice it." She kept dramatically pointing to either herself or the students with a lazy hand as the silent class looked on amazed.

"Aat eend of the lesssson you will try and hex meee, I will try and hex yooou." And with that she fell asleep, her limp, blond ringlets tumbling onto the wooden desk. James swore that he could even hear a faint snore. The first years sat still in amazement for a few moments before conversation broke out amongst different groups of people. James surveyed the room, wondering how best to use his time. The more studious students were reading the book, doing the work the drunken professor had set, Colin had even started doing the wand movements as he read, causing the items nearest him to spark or roll over. The more sociable of the girls were introducing themselves to the other house; Evans and another Gryffindor called Martie were in fits of laughter as they spoke to the pureblooded ravenclaw, Katarina Martel. James purposely turned his back on the giggling girls and looked towards his own friends.

"Jamesie boy, I hope you're not considering doing the work." Sirius said with mock concern, causing James to laugh and Remus to make a short, awkward, high pitched laugh. James looked towards his friend with a smile,

"If you want to work Remus we are not going to stop you."

"Um, yes we are! I do believe that we have revenge to plot," Interjected Sirius, "You can't go and… go and…"

"Go and do what I'm meant to be doing?"

"Exactly, you can't go do what you want at a time like this," Sirius finished defiantly, giving the boy a scolding look and completely missing the humour in Remus's answer. James opened his mouth to correct him but Remus gave a small shrug and, calling Peter over, they started plotting their grand plan. Ironically this led to the realisation that they didn't know enough magic to set any sort of plan into motion and they found themselves trawling through the defence against the dark arts book, looking for useful spells.

"Hey! I've got a good one," called out Sirius, 10 minutes into the single lesson. "It's called the- umm the bat bogey hex, ever heard of it?" Peter, Remus and James looked incredulously at their friend as he showed them the spell.

"Sirius, really?" James said in disbelief, "It's the spell we are meant to be learning for the lesson."

Sirius shrugged and pushed the book towards James. The spell featured a simple wand movement and the wording was fairly basic so, a mere 5 minutes later, both Sirius and James had grasped the hang of it, hexing Peter's face into a flurry of black bat wings protruding out of a green ooze that had spread around his entire head. Both found it hilarious, especially since neither could get the hang of the counter curse. But Peter's distress was only temporary. Professor Sluter had begun to stir from her alcohol induced slumber, looking more of a mess than ever with her red lipstick smudged along her right cheek. She staggered around the class, reverting the few successful hexes as she lit a cigarette and pulled herself back onto her desk. Sitting on it she looked around the class room and, after repeatedly blinking, said "Okay dokay, time is upp. Whooo thinks that theyre tough enough?" Colin waved his hand about furiously, as did two Ravenclaw students, but the Professor ignored them and took out her register.

"Hmmm, Black. Coome and show me what you've got." Sirius looked up at the Professor and, shooting a quick smile to James, swaggered up to the front of the class. Sighing, he began the spell.

"Vespertili-" he stopped, mid sentence as an array of flapping wings sprouted from his face. Professor Slueter had merely flicked her wand without even uttering a word. She smiled steadily at the class.

"Potter we will have you next." She had lost all slur from her voice, instead speaking with an authoritative tone. But the mere sight of her alone, what with her ripped tights, high heels and red, short robes made James less cautious. He took his wand and started his spell with the same casualness as Sirius had. She let him get most the way through the hex before silencing him, once again with a simple flick of her wand. The class burst into laughter as the two bat-winged-faced boys scrambled around, but stopped immediately with a single look from their Professor who, despite her attire, now held the attention and respect of the class. It only then dawned on James what she had done, tricking them into believing that she was some drunken bimbo to teach them that you should never take someone at face value, especially if they are trying to hex you. He remembered now that the article in the prophet said that she was incredibly deceptive and had passed the 'concealment and disguise' part of Auror training with full marks, something he didn't think even his Mum or Dad had done.

"Lesson number one: Never underestimate your opponent," She said severely before reverting the hex she had placed on Sirius and James. "I mean that, after all looks can be deceiving, and just because someone is acting dumb it doesn't mean they are. Take the Horganspit Pixies as examples; they look and act exactly like harmless Cornish Pixies, until you get too close and they bite you, injecting a deadly venom directly into the bloodstream, killing you in ten seconds flat. You see, Defence Against the Dark Arts isn't just about remembering a collection of spells to perform on demand, it's about always being aware- 'constant vigilance' as a friend of mine always says. You need to be prepared for any situation thrown at you without a moment's hesitation." The whole class was silent, in awe of the Professor as she charismatically spoke from the front of the classroom.

"So, seeing as we have ten minutes left of the lesson I want you to practise the hex with a partner, however I would also like to set you a challenge." Her eyes twinkled at this, a smile crossing her lips, "I have just been yapping on at you about constant vigilance so let's see if I can practise what I preach, I will award twenty house points to the student able to hex me with the bat bogey curse, but beware, as defence against the dark arts is also about weighing up risks, every time you try to hex me and fail you will lose one house point."

"Vespertilionem!" James shouted immediately, disrupting the speech and causing the entire class to jump, a few girls to scream and Peter to knock over his ink pot. Caught off guard Professor Slueter immediately drew out her wand and yelled "Protego!" shielding herself and blocking the hex.

"Very good Mr Potter" she smiled, regaining her composure, "I am impressed, you were very close and, admittedly, I was not paying enough attention. But, unfortunately you were not close enough. One house point from Gryffindor." James nodded without any resentment, but the surrounding Gryffindors all groaned in disappointment and James swore he heard that Evans girl say "not another one."

"Now, now a rule is a rule." Professor Slueter said, "Alright, get into partners and start practising, time is running out." The students all paired up and the room was filled with the shouts and shrieks of 'Vespertilionem'. Sirius, James, Remus and Peter didn't move however, instead they looked at each other, each thinking the question that James voiced.

"So, how are we going to take the witch down?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: so what do you think of Professor Slueter? I read the chapter back and wasn't sure if what she did and what she is like was clear enough (please tell me if it isn't, i will change it and won't get offended or anything, constructive critisism is always ridiculously helpful) I know the whole chapter is a <em>little<em> rushed but I just had to write it after getting 5 reviews for the last chapter (thankyou so much for reviewing, it is honestly the greatest thing to hear that someone actually likes what your writing) and, admittedly, as a way of avoiding revision :) I will write more as soon as I can and I'm sorry for the cliffhanger that really isn't really a cliffhanger as its not that dramatic :/ just think about it as half a chapter or something :) oh, and if anyone's interested _vespertilionem_ is latin for bat, they didn't have a word for bogey so I thought it would do as the spell is never actually said in the books (the spell on pottermore is different- that's the curse of the bogies) :) anyway thankyou again for reading and reviewing and everything, I hope you are enjoying the story so far :)**

**~millie-mae**

**UPDATE: ok, I didn't think it was clear enough what Slueter did (from the reviews) so I have added a little bit more to try and explain it, is it clear now or do I need to do a proper rewrite? thanks :)**


	8. Distractions

The four boys stood in the middle of the classroom, formulating a plan as the other students made unsuccessful attempts to hex the Professor. Well, if Peter was honest, it was James, Remus and Sirius who were formulating the plan, he actually had no real input apart from the occasional nod or shake of the head which were, on the whole, ignored by the three other boys who were too wound up in their own genius to notice him. Instead Peter stood watching Lily Evans, the girl who James inexplicitly disliked, try her luck with the bat bogey hex. She had at this point in the lesson successfully preformed it four times on her curly haired friend, but as of yet hadn't put it into practise against the teacher. Peter watched as the small witch weaved through the class, making a beeline for the professor, her flaming red hair dancing behind her as she ran.

"Vespertilionem" she whispered, pointing her wand towards Professor Slueter, whose back was currently turned away from her. For a moment Peter saw a look of glee flash across Lily's green eyes, but it was only momentary as Professor Slueter turned around, revealing a bogey and batwing free face.

"Nice try Miss Evans, but you're going to have to be a little bit lighter on your feat if you don't want me to hear you," the professor said, making the girl flush a brilliant shade of red, clashing tremendously with her hair. _She still looks pretty though _Peter thought to himself.

"What do you think Peter?"

"She's pretty." Peter said automatically. James, Sirius and Remus all looked at the boy incredulously as he turned an even deeper shade than Lily had.

"She's pretty?" Sirius repeated "She's pretty?! We ask you what you think of our devilishly awesome plan and you tell us you think she's pretty?"

"Yeh, urm she's a pretty awesome plan." Peter said, tripping over his words, "I must have missed out the last few words" he laughed awkwardly, praying that his friends bought it.

"And since when was the plan female?" Sirius queried, raising his eyebrows so high that they became lost in his sleek head of hair.

"Look, never mind that Sirius, times running out and I want this to work. Ok?" James said, accepting the boys excuse, or, Peter thought, forgetting what he had even originally said.

"Ok, Remus, find your charms book and open it immediately to the hover charm." James directed, adopting a serious tone as he began pacing up and down in front of the desks, mimicking an army general. "Say as soon as you've found the page. Sirius, search my bag, I believe that I have a spare box of Dr Filibusters wet start, no heat fireworks lying at the bottom. Wet start, urmm , we will need some water for that- Peter go get me a glass of water. Ahh Remus have you found the hover charm? Right well- " James's voice faded out as Peter scuttled off to get a glass of water. He grabbed one from the Gryffindor girls desk, who were all too busy sending bat bogey hex's left, right and centre to pay any attention. When he turned back around to deliver the glass he had to stifle a laugh at James who was prancing about, issuing out instructions and ordering both Remus and Sirius (who were both trying to levitate their quills) about with a stern, determined look on his face.

"It says swish and flick, not swish and jab me in the bloody eye Sirius!" He heard James call out as he neared the table.

"I've got the water James," Peter said, holding out the glass proudly.

"Brilliant" James responded, a grin etched across his face, "Brilliant. Ok, luckily for us the fireworks are four years old, meaning that they have approximately a 40 second delay before exploding, meaning that we will have enough time to levitate them over the teachers desk, meaning that Professor Slueter will be so distracted stopping them blowing up her desk and that we will have enough time to hex her. Do you concur?"

"Concur?" Sirius asked bemused.

"What happens if we set her desk on fire?" Remus asked pessimistically. James shrugged with a wicked glint in his eyes. Peter noted Remus's troubled look, but, as the boy didn't say anything Peter decided it was high time he contributed to the conversation and asked

"So who can do the best hover charm?"

"Remus was the best" Sirius said immediately

"No shit," James muttered.

"I am sorry, what was that?" Sirius asked in mock disbelief.

"Well, you kind of blew your quill up Sirius," James said, pointing to what remained of the burnt feather.

"Blew it up is a little bit of an overstatement"

"well…"

"Besides, I made mine fly first!"

"He has got a point," Remus admitted, breaking up the pretend argument. "Besides, what does it matter if he blows the fireworks up, that's really what we were aiming for." James looked at his friend as though in deep thought until announcing

"I concur. Sirius, you can do the hover charm."

"What is with all this concurring business?" Sirius asked with a puzzled expression.

"It's a muggle term meaning 'I agree'" James explained with a knowledgeable nod, "Now Sirius, get to work."

"I concur" Sirius said, before extracting his wand. James dipped each firework in Peters glass of water as Remus began to count down 40 seconds on his watch. Sirius then said, with a certain amount of over the top swishing and flicking,

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Peter watched in awe as the fireworks lifted up, above his head, and began their journey across the ceiling to the teacher's desk.

"19, 18, 17…" Remus counted as the explosions edged nearer and nearer.

"13, 12, 11…" As the numbers continued to decrease at an alarming speed Sirius began to panic, and, waving his wand a little too hard, the fireworks began to spark.

"7, 6, 5- " Remus suddenly abandoned counting as an almighty explosion erupted from the centre of the room. A thousand colours burst out, descending from the ceiling, whooping, fizzing, crackling and sparkling as the students all stood still, a strong mixture of shock and delight crossing their faces. Even once James had yelled

"Vespertilionem!" at the stunned teacher, successfully hexing her and winning the challenge, the first years still stayed completely motionless, gawping at the carnival like display that whizzed around their heads. It was only once the fireworks had fizzled out then anyone even dared to move.

"Who was responsible?" Professor Slueter asked after countering the hex, returning her face to normal.

"James Potter," Colin said immediately, pointing over to the boy with a wicked smile.

"It wasn't just James," Remus said automatically, "I did it to, you can't just punish him."

"So did I," said Sirius before Peter agreed with something that sounded more like a squeak that a sentence.

"Punish? Oh no, I don't want to punish you boys, I want to praise you. The use of fireworks to distract me was a fantastic idea-"

"-if not one that is _highly_ illegal," Colin added, looking desperately up at the Professor.

"Illegal? I don't believe that there is a law against the use of fireworks at Hogwarts, Mr Jackson." Professor Slueter said curtly before turning back to James, Remus, Sirius and Peter. "Now, as promised I award twenty house points each to Gryffindor for that ingenious idea and well executed plan." Peter heard the word 'each' echoed in horror by the Ravenclaws as Professor Slueter made her way back up to the front of the class and began writing on the blackboard "Now, for homework tonight I want you to master the bat-bogey hex and be prepared to perform it next lesson, which I believe is-" she quickly flicked through the diary in front of her desk, "tomorrow. Ok, class dismissed." And with that she stood up and walked out of the classroom, leaving behind her a gaggle of stunned first years unsure exactly what they had just witnessed. Peter heard his, James, Sirius and Remus's names being whispered around the classroom and became suddenly aware of the amount of people looking at him.

"And so our legacy has begun" James said, only half joking, as he proceeded to exit the room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry about the ending again, I didn't mean to make James so pompous or cliché, I just couldn't think of any other way to end it : as per usual I would love to hear your comments (constructive critisism is always very very welcome, no matter how harsh it sounds). I was also wondering which first lessons people wanted me to write about. I know potterhead1997 wants me to do McGonagalls first class (which i definatly will), but are there anyothers in particular that people want me to either write about or gloss over and skip out? Also you will all be pleased to know that I have started building a list of prank ideas for the marauders to preform, my only problem is that they need to know enough complicated ish magic to preform them so I won't be able to write most of them straight away, so please don't think that I can't think of any good pranks or any good original ideas (I don't consider the fireworks or Colin jam in bed to be real marauder pranks), I have ideas, you will just need to wait awhile :) ****as always sorry for ramberling on and thankyou ****so so so much for reviewing (with that lovely new big blue button), it genuinly makes my day :)**

**~millie-mae**

**UPDATE: arghh! ok, I'm really sorry but I thought I uploaded this chapter earlier today when I got back from school, I just came to check on how it was doing but the chapter hasn't shown up (although it does say I updated this story today and iv had a lot more traffic than when I don't upload) so I'm really confused (has anyone else experienced anything like this and if so how do I fix it?) so yeah, I'm really really sorry, but I hope the wait was worth it and I will try and make sure it dosn't happen next time :)**

**also I got some more reviews (yay! :D thank you very much) over this time so to answer Iridian Lestrange Black's question: thank you and don't worry, I plan on doing the whole 7 years properly so there will be _a lot_ of snape/lily/james scenes and yes, the full moon is coming up. I checked the moon chart for 1971 and the first full moon Lupin experienced at Hogwarts was on the 5th of september. I was planning on writing the next chapter(s) more from his p.o.v. to do a proper lead up to the moon and also writing his first transformation in the full :) **


	9. Klump

After the defence against the dark arts lesson Remus exited the castle, following his friends as they made their way out onto the Hogwarts grounds. They immediately spotted greenhouse one, where their Herbology lesson was to take place, and began walking towards it. Despite it only being the first day of lessons the Gryffindor and Slytherin students already understood and felt the deep hatred that ran between the two houses. So, upon seeing a small sea of green and silver gathered outside the greenhouse, both James and Sirius instinctively placed their hands into their robes, clutching their wands. Most of the Slytherins were too preoccupied to notice them, eagerly peaking in through the greenhouse's dusty windows, hoping to catch a glimpse at the rumoured jungle that lay inside. A small group of Slytherins, however, broke away from the pack and turned to face them defensively, swapping snide remarks as they watched them approach. Remus noticed Sirius tense up and stop talking as they neared the greenhouse. The boy seemed fidgety, doing all he could to look away from the Slytherins who, Remus noticed, beginning to wonder if he too ought to get his wand out, were looking pointedly towards Sirius. One boy nudged another and they began to walk towards the four Gryffindors.

"Black" he spat, plunging his hand into his robes, drawing out his wand, "Not that your worthy of that name, you filthy blood traitor." James and Sirius also drew their wands, aiming them instinctively at the tall boy's neck.

"I'm sorry; do you have a problem" James said, narrowing his eyes.

"Do I have a problem with a Black being in Gryffindor? Yes, I think I do, Potter."

James took a step closer, brandishing his wand threateningly. If it hadn't been for the Herbology Professor choosing that precise moment to exit out of the greenhouse, Remus swore that the two boys would have come to blows. As it was they both hurriedly stowed their wands away upon seeing the short, stumpy man dressed in earthy coloured robes.

"Alright, are we all here?" he asked in a rough voice, eyeing them all suspiciously.

"Yes, sir," said Colin quickly, clearly keen to make a good impression.

"Right," Said the Professor in a bored tone, "Enter the Greenhouse in single file, and no talking." The Gryffindor and Slytherin first years all proceeded to shuffle into the humid room, underwhelmed at the plants surrounding them. There were various vines draped down the walls, which, apart from their obscure purple, green and yellow coloured leaves, looked to Remus like the sort of plant you would quite easily find in his muggle neighbourhood. Nothing seemed to move, make noises or give off any particularly distinctive smells. He had read his Herbology textbook avidly in the holidays, spending hour's marvelling over magical plants such as Louseitie flower, a beautiful plant that can grow over five feet high and is often used in the most complicated and strongest love potions. The flour has crimson red petals and gives off an odour which was not only beautifully sweet, but also poisonous and addictive. Once it kills something it wraps its leaves tightly round it to digest it, before leaving the carcass to attract more prey. Admittedly, there were a few potted plants resting on the greenhouse's window sill humming, but the room still seemed rather unimpressive compared to the world the textbook had described. The greenhouse was also incredibly grubby, much to the displeasure of some of the girls. Remus watched as a Slytherin with long, blond hair recoiled in terror as she noticed the soil splattered over the floor and fertilizers such as dragon dung stashed away in the corner.

"Now, my name is Professor Klump and I am the Professor of Herbology at this here school," Professor Klump said in a loud voice, talking over the obvious commotion. "Now you know my name, I would like to know yours. Please can we go around the table and introduce ourselves." He then indicated to Colin, who had been first into the classroom, and therefore at the beginning of the first row, to start.

"Hello, my name is Colin Jackson," Colin said proudly, puffing out his chest a little as he spoke, before pointedly looking at the girl next to him, prompting her to speak.

"My name is Matilda McClowers, but you can call me Martie," She said with a grin, before turning to her friend next to her who continued with the introductions. This went continually around the table until it was Remus's turn.

"Hello, I'm Remus Lupin," he said, James then began to say his name but was cut off by Professor Klump, who held up his hand and, in a fake, friendly voice with smile fixed on his face said

"Hello Remus Lupin, I am sorry but could you please come and help me bring in the plants for today's lesson." Remus looked up and nodded, making his way out of his seat and following the Professor out of the door.

"Keep Introducing yourselves," Klump called out cheerily as he pulled the door shut which, despite knowing him for all of five minutes, Remus could tell was out of the grumpy mans character. The Professor stood facing the young boy as the fixed smile disappeared and a look of absolute repulsion spread across his face. After a minuet of being stared at like some sort of zoo creature Remus plucked up the courage to ask,

"Where are the plants, sir?"

"Plants?" responded Klump, who continued to stare Remus up and down. "Oh, plants. Over in Greenhouse two." Remus stepped forward, meaning to go to the greenhouse, but the Professor flinched.

"Is there a problem sir?" Remus asked, as realisation dawned on the young werewolf.

"No," the Professor responded with a contort look, as if trying to control himself, "No, not at all."

After helping the Professor carry the plants into greenhouse one, Remus resumed his seat in-between James and Peter and sat in silence for the remainder of the Herbology lesson. Every time he raised his hand to answer or ask a question he was simply ignored by the stout Professor who could not even bring himself to look at the boy. It was only once Remus was hard at work trying to extract jou-jou beans from the jue-jue plant that he felt the Professors eyes glaring down at him, matched with a look of disgust that was missed by the other students. Indeed, once the lesson was over and the four Gryffindor boys were traipsing back up to the castle none of them mentioned the harsh treatment that Remus had endured. Instead they chose to talk about unimportant things, such as the fact that first years couldn't own broomsticks.

"Honestly, I don't understand why they don't allow it" James protested, "I mean, really, what difference does one year make? If you're good enough for the team you're good enough for the team. Age and that sort of stuff shouldn't matter."

"Oh and you think you're good enough for the team?" Sirius teased.

"Well, I don't know do I, and because of that stupid little rule it's not like I will get to find out." James huffed as Remus hung back a little, looking at the boy with mild interest. Since James had stepped into his carriage yesterday morning the young werewolf had been on top of the world. Admittedly the pull of the ever nearing moon was growing stronger, inducing deep headaches and sudden shooting pains throughout his body, but it hadn't mattered. He was at Hogwarts, he had friends.

_Friends?_

Said a small voice in the back of his head,

_Do you really think that they would be your friends if they knew the truth? Do you even think that they would be able to look at you if they knew the truth? _

Remus winced, remembering the way Klump had gazed at him with such disgust and hatred, mirroring the expressions of his parents' friends when they had found out his terrible secret. His own Mother even didn't look at him the same way she looked at her other son; There was something cold in her eyes when she looked at him, something in the way she hugged him that told him how she really felt. She would never admit it obviously, but-

"Earth to Remus, earth to Remus," Sirius said, knocking his hand against the boy head, interrupting the werewolf's tangle of thoughts, "Is anybody home?"

"Yeah," said Remus automatically.

"Are you all right?" James asked softly, "you seem a bit… distant."

"Yeh, just got a headache, that's all." It wasn't exactly a lie, Remus's head was throbbing and after being lightly hit by Sirius it felt like it was about to explode. "Do you know what, I think I'll go and find the school nurse."

"Alright mate," James said kindly, "I think the hospital wings this way, I'll take you."

Remus looked up in surprise at the boys suggestion, "Oh no, you don't need to do that James, its fine I can fi-"

"No." James said firmly, "You are ill, I am your friend, I am going to take you." He gave Remus a reassuring smile before looking up at Sirius, "Tell the professor where we are Sirius, now come on Remus, off we go."

"Bye Remus," Peter said and Sirius gave a mock salute as James and Remus headed off down the corridor in entirely the wrong direction.

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><p><strong>AN: well I guess I h<strong>**ave a lot of apologies, firstly for this weird notification/disappearing chapter thing that is going on at the moment. As I explained to pottermore1997 last night I honestly don't have a clue what's going on (I have many theories but no actual answers) I searched my computer for virus's and I think it said it found some and deleted them (not too sure, I'm not to good with computers) I don't think that they should have been able to affect my fanfiction account though (maybe they could have been able to mess with my computer documents though?) I also thought that possibly someone could be hacking me, deleting stuff, switching documents around etc so I've changed my password. It also might be my brother as I often leave my laptop logged on and unattended and he'd find it hilarious, but he also doesn't know I write fanfiction so I doubt it, however I'm going to from now on make sure I always log off. So, yeh what I'm trying to say is that I'm trying my best to make sure that this doesn't happen anymore so please bear with me :) I actually lost the last chapter I wrote (computer deleted it when it removed the virus, not quite sure why and the document has mysteriously disappeared from my documents) and this is merely a quick re write. this leads me onto my next apology as yeh, this is another non chapter that stops in a weird place, like I said I lost the original chapter, which had a longer plot with more stuff happening in it, but I don't have the time to write it all up at the moment, so I thought this was better than nothing :)** (UPDATE/EDIT: THIS IS NOW THE COMPLETED CHAPTER)** I will try and write it as quickly as possible while it's still fresh in my mind, but as my exams are next week (they start Friday) I can't promise a lot of uploads, again I'm sorry :( but yeh, as always thank you so much for your reviews, I know everyone says this but it genuinely makes me so happy to know that someone actually likes what I'm writing. I have decided to start a new little section in my authors notes like question and answer, where I basically answer the reviews. I had originally planned on starting to pm everyone to thank them and answer questions, but I decided that this would be better as when people ask questions on fanfictions I like I tend to want to know the answer :) (does this make sense?) :) so yeh, thank you so much for reading, subscribing, adding the story to your favourites etc :**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Adam 516/12 . chapter 4

Loved it. Like Collin too. My only request is more descriptions on their locations in this chapter and on the train. I didn't know if they were in the common room or their bedroom suite until the very end.

_**Thank you :) and I re-read everything I've written and completly agree with you, it isn't clear enough. I tried to be a little bit more descriptive with this chapter but I'm not sure if it worked or not? what do you think, more or less?**_

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><p>lucy 516/12 . chapter 8

love professor slueter, its sad she will only last a year :/ (because of voldemorts curse when he was rejected no DADA professor has lasted more than a year) update soon please :)

**_haha yeah :) I was actually wondering if anyone new if a DADA teacher could teach for one year, leave for a few years and then come back? just a thought..._**

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><p>judichi 516/12 . chapter 8

fantastic as per usual :) and I would love you to do all their first lessons please :)

**_aww thank you :) and I will try and do my best, I'm not sure if it will get a little boring after a while though, as anyone reading this is already very familliar with the subjects and the teachers (unless their new) :)_**

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><p>Droupy48 516/12 . chapter 8

loved it :) can't wait for the next chapter! (my email says there's already one out, but I guess I can't see it yet)

**_Thankyou :) and I'm really sorry about the notifications thing :/ I'm trying my best to fix it :/ promise :)_**

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><p>Dndchk 515/12 . chapter 8

Since you were kind enough to review my story, I decided to read yours. I loved Professor Sleuter! Too funny!

Anyway, as for a prank- it's pretty much a Marauders fanfic tradition to have them turn the Slytherin common room red and gold. Just sos ya knows.

I'll be waiting for the next chapter!

**_Thank you so much, thats really kind :) and yeah, haha, I must admit I'm going to do a lot of traditional pranks (e.g. putting certain potions into the food and making the slytherins look particually girly,frilly and pink etc in what they where) but I do have some original prank ideas up my sleeve too :) mwa ha ha ha'_**

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><p>potterhead1997 515/12 . chapter 8

The whole upload fiasco has only happened to this story out of all the ones I have read so yah try contacting the halp center peoples it is probably just a glich. God I hate Collin I hope he goes to mcgonagall and asks to change rooms or gets expelled or dies either on works for me:)

**_thank you so much for the advice, _****_hopefully I've fixed it now (fingers crossed) and yeah, colins a bitch :) but there is a reason he is in Gryffindor... (and its not just to have a character to constantly wind up the marauders)..._**

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><p>ukie-girl 515/12 . chapter 8

I would think that a defense against the dark arts teacher might have seen fireworks as a very OBVIOUS attempt to distract her... but still. LOVE IT!

Can't wait till your next update :) Keep up the great work!

ukie-girl

**_haha :) yeah, fair point. Personally I don't think she would have expected a group of first years to randomly take fireworks into her classroom, let alone have the nerve to set them off :) but yeah, like i said, fair point :) and thank you so much, I will try and update soon :)_**


	10. The Secret Door

It took fifteen minutes of wondering around aimlessly through the corridors and up and down various sets of stairs before James finally admitted he was lost.

"You know, there really should be a map to this place," he grumbled to Remus as they walked down a dimly lit corridor, reaching yet another dead end. "Or at least some directions, I mean, they find the time to hang this massive painting of a fruit bowl up but not a simple sign saying 'hospital wing this way'," he said, gesturing miserably towards the colourful picture in front of them. "I mean, really, what is the point of this painting?"

Remus gave a small laugh. "Oh, I don't know James, it's art isn't it?"

"Well art should have a point, that's really what makes it art, isn't it."James looked at the painting again, as though trying to find its 'point'.

"It's not really that good" he said bemused, reaching out his hand to touch it, "Its looks good and all, but it's like a muggle painting, It doesn't move or do anything." Just as he said that his hand brushed over the pear and it giggled quietly. James turned to Remus, his face barley concealing his excitement.

"Did you hear that?" he asked quickly, looking between his friend and the painting, a sudden gleam in his eyes. Remus nodded, smiling slightly at his friend's over enthusiastic look. James turned back to the painting and began quickly moving his hand back and forth over the pear, tickling it, causing it to laugh louder and louder before finally emitting a small pop and turning into a door knob.

"Wow," James and Remus gasped, standing in absolute silence for three full seconds, examining what was in front of them.

"Remus!" James exclaimed suddenly "It's a door!"

"Well yeah, I could tell as soon as I saw the door handle…" But Remus's voice trailed off as he saw James's eyes filled with wonder and watched as the boy subconsciously stroked his hand through his messy, black head of hair as though deep in thought.

"Where do you think it goes?" James asked rhetorically, reaching forward to open it, not waiting for his friends answer. The painting swung open revealing a short flight of stairs leading down to a gigantic room. As they descended down the stairs Remus realised that the room seemed to mirror the great hall. It had five long tables, each placed in an identical position to that of either the house tables or the teachers table and a high ceiling that had floating candles. However the stone walls were lined with an array of brass pots and pans, all gleaming from the candle light, opposed to the houses drapes. They key difference was the small creatures with bulging eyes and bat like ears that ran about the place, cooking various foods and setting the five tables with the silver cutlery, plates and glasses that Remus recognised from breakfast.

"House-elves," James said under his breath as he to stood studying the little creatures. He turned to Remus with a grin, "are you think what I'm thinking?"

"That this certainty isn't the hospital wing?" Remus responded jokingly. James's excited face faltered.

"Hospital wing?" he said in confusion, "Dammn it! Oh I'm sorry Remus, I forgot you were ill. I just saw the painting and then the pear giggled and I just got a bit lost in all the excitement and I-"

"James," Remus said, trying not to laugh at the overly flustered boy, "It's fine, ok? Breath."

"No, I'm sorry Remus, come on let's get going."

"Excuse me sirs," a little voice squeaked. Remus looked down to find a small house-elf bowing at his and James's feet.

"Oh you don't need to do that," James said quickly to the elf, "and my names James and this is Remus, just call us by those name."

"Yes master James," The elf responded looking up happily at the boy, his big eyes gleaming with happiness.

"It's just James," James said as other house-elves began to gather inquisitively around them.

"What can Oggie do for yous?" the small elf asked.

"Do for us?"

"Fetch you anything from the kitchen, attend to any mess, adjust the food to suit any dietary requirements, supply you with ingredients or cleaning materials, fresh sheets-"The elf listed.

"-I wouldn't mind a little bit of pumpkin juice" James said, sheepishly adding, "If it wouldn't be too much hassle." The elf immediately nodded, giving a wide smile that revealed a row of crooked teeth as two house-elves whizzed off, coming back with a large glass of pumpkin juice that was filled to the brim.

"And you, master Remus?"Oggie squeaked, looking up expectantly at the second boy.

"Urmm," he mumbled, "I don't really want anything thanks Oggie." The elf's face fell and her long ears drooped down past her dumpy chin.

"Is you sure master Remus?" She asked in a small voice, "Oggie likes to help."

"Well, you couldn't tell us the way to the Hospital wing could you? Only were lost." Remus asked; keen to get away from the clatter of the kitchens.

"Certainly," replied Oggie, her ears perking up and a toothy grin reassembling on her face. "If yous takes my hands" she said, stretching out a long, grubby hand to each boy, "and-"

Remus felt Oggies hand twist away from him as everything went a deep black. An immense pressure surrounded him, forcing his breath to be sucked out. He tried to gasp for air, but failed as the force around him grew, chocking him and crushing his clothes into his skin, eyeballs back into the depths of their sockets and eardrums against the skull. In this moment of terrible agony he thought he was somehow transforming into his wolfish self. But then, as it all grew too much, it stopped.

After repeatedly blinking and steadying himself against a wall, Remus became aware of the fact that they were no longer in the kitchens. Instead he found himself in a long hallway standing in front of two white doors with the words _Hospital Wing _inscribed above them.

"Here you goes sirs," Oggie said brightly, giving them a low bow.

"Oggie, did we just apparate?" James asked breathlessly. The small elf gave him a small grin and, clicking her long, elfish fingers, disaparated. Remus looked over in amazement to James, who was noticeably green.

"Are you alright?" he asked. James unconvincingly nodded, giving his friend a weak smile.

"Of course I am Remus; you're the ill one remember." He gave a small laugh as he straightened himself up. "Come on, let's get you into the Hospital wing" he said, walking towards the white doors and opening them for his friend, "In you pop."

As Remus walked into the hospital wing he was met with the familiar smell of cleanliness that greeted him every time he went to St Mungo's. However, unlike St Mungo's, the walls of the Hogwarts Hospital Wing weren't a startling white. Instead they were made of brick with white curtains that draped over the windows and reached the wooden floor. A young witch with a tangle of curls tied up in a loose bun came out of the nurse's office as soon as she spotted them,

"Hello," She said with a warm smile, "Now what can I do for you young man?"

"I've just got a bit of a headache," Remus said feebly.

"Alright, well I have got the potion for that, just you wait there." She went back into her office, rummaging about in her cupboard for a few minutes before coming back with a strong green liquid that smelt slightly of apples. "Just drink that and you will be right as rain" She said, offering the thick drink to Remus.

"I just need to write down your name." She said as she extracting a small notebook out of her pinafore, "And then you can be on your way." She looked up expectantly at Remus.

"Oh- my names Remus Lupin." The nurse froze for a second and then quickly looked up at Remus, then at James and then back to Remus.

"Alright dear, I actually think I may have something a little bit stronger for that headache, but I will have to brew it myself so if your friend here wants to get himself to class and tell the Professor that you will be along in a minute." James nodded, not noticing the Matrons reaction to Remus's name.

"Ok," he said, walking out of the hospital wing, "I'll just wait outside". He shut the white doors behind him and the sat himself outside the hospital wing, inadvertently listening in to the conversation going on inside.

"Remus," he heard the nurse say, "My name is Madame Pomfrey, and I am going to be helping you with your… situation"

"Ok," he heard his friend say nervously.

"Now obviously there is no cure, but-" James jumped up, immediately realising that he was listening into a private conversation. Trying to block the voices from his head and trying to forget what he had just heard James quickly walked away from the big white doors and hurried off to charms.

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><p><strong>AN: So what did you think? likedislike? too rushed? too much too soon? etc.. I would just like to say that don't worry as everything will be in canon and won't go against anything said in the Harry Potter books (so their not all about to find out the Remus is a werewolf and become animagi in 1st year) :) however, we only get to hear about 1970's hogwarts from snape, remus and sirius and I would assume that there would be things that they don't know about so.. yeh :) I think theres room for poetic licence :) as always please review, favourite, add to alerts etc :) (and thankyou for doing so) also I think that I have sorted out the alerts issue (I havn't had any complaints for the last chapter) so YEY :) but obviously tell me if theres anything still going wrong for you :) Now I do have my exams coming up so there may be a shorage of chapters for a while (next week there will definatly be no/few chapters) but hang on in there, I havn't abandonded the story and I should be writing again soon after that :) so yeh, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Sorenson Carlisle 520/12 . chapter 9

Well that was very nice. I like your creativity and reaserch. Keep righting I kinda don't like Collin not cause he's a bitch and other words but I feel he will be Pranked on and stuff when snap is supposed to be Thier target hopefully next year he will get sick also horse a funny plot for it he should deffinetly go home during the holidays. :)

**_thank you :) and I actually hadn't thought about that, as your right, it would be wrong for him to detract from Snape as the marauders main target... hmm I will definitly have to think about that so thankyou :)_**

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><p>potterhead1997 519/12 . chapter 9

Awww James is really the best friend anyone could have he is much like Harry

**_haha :) yeh, I think James always gets a bad press (especially in some fanfictions) as we only see his worst moments in the pensive :) don't get me wrong, some of the things he does arn't right, but I think that he's a good guy :) _**

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><p>greenhazel 519/12 . chapter 9

I love how you have all these new characters and that you're already exploring the prejudice that Remus would have faced, making it into a real story. Most fanfictions just have the same old professors and just a basic story line based on their social lives about OC fancying one of the marauders or vice versa but yours is different, and I love it because of that. Please keep writing, I can't wait to read the next chapter -greenhazel xx

p.s. I don't think that your spelling and grammer is that bad.

**_thankyou so much :) that means a lot :) and haha thanks but to be fair it probably is :)_**

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><p>bobbyboobear 519/12 . chapter 9

so does Professor Klump know he's a wearwolf? how?

_**Yeah :) all the teachers are informed about Lupins 'furry little problem' :)**_

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><p>Sliverwing and Shiver 518/12 . chapter 9

Cool story. I must say the way that teacher just acted was appaulling

**_thanks :) and yeh, I agree :/_**

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><p>Droupy48 518/12 . chapter 9

love the chapter, hate that teacher! lol I can't stand people like that, but I'm looking forward to his impact on the story :) please update soon!

**_haha :) thanks and yeah, same :/ _**

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><p>WhyWhatShutup 518/12 . chapter 9

The plot is alright, but I would encourage you to get a beta reader to help you with your spelling and grammar.

Good Luck! :)

**_thank you :) and yeah, I probably should but I'm one of those people who writes something and uploads straight away, im just not patient! I do however sometimes go back over chapters a few days later to attempt to proofread them :)_**


	11. Arrangements

Remus sat in the Hospital Wing drinking the foul potion Madame Pomfrey had concocted as he listened to her explain what would happen each full moon. It turned out that Dumbledore had found a shack in Hogsmead, the local wizarding village, and constructed a path to it from the school grounds. When Remus learnt that he was going to be so close to the school during his transformations he jumped up, surprising the young nurse and spilling the thick, gloopy mess over both of them.

"Scourgify" she said calmly, waving her wand, clearing the spilt potion.

"But I can't be so close to the school!" Remus exclaimed, "What happens if I bite someone, you don't know what it's like when it's the full moon. I become a monster." He emphasised the last word, looking the nurse straight in the eye as he said it.

"I'm a monster," he repeated quietly, tilting his head downwards, saying the words more to himself than the concerned matron in front of him. Remus wasn't one to go around feeling sorry for himself, after all the result of the attack could have been so much worse, but as he sat there in the hospital wing he felt the weight of his affliction fall heavily on his weak shoulders.

"This isn't right," he said, looking back up at Madame Pomfrey, "I'm a monster. Do you understand? Every full moon I change into a blood thirsty creature that would rip you and every person in this school apart without a second thought. I would enjoy it, I would relish in sinking my-"

"-stop it." Madame Pomfrey said sharply, cutting the young boy off. "You wouldn't feel anything pleasurable from doing that."

"Yes I would, see that's the pro-"

"No you wouldn't. The wolf, maybe. But you, Remus Lupin, would not." She gave him a strong smile, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder in support. "Listen to me. No matter what happens, no matter what ever thoughts come crashing through your head when you are the wolf, that's not you. You are this young, shy, sweet boy in front of me who from the looks of things wouldn't hurt a fly- and you don't need to be worried about hurting anyone," she added quickly, seeing the troubled look passing across Remus's face as he opened his mouth to speak again, "Dumbledore has arranged a type of tree called the Whomping Willow to be planted above the entrance to the tunnel. All students will be forbidden to go anywhere near it and if they do the tree will scare them off." Remus felt relief flush through him at this. He was aware of the Whomping Willow, a dangerous and highly aggressive tree, as it had been in one of his dad's gardening books; 'Extreme Gardening for the Extreme Wizard." He was therefore happier that no one would be able to stumble across him during the full moon and become subjected to his curse. That was the one thing he would never forgive himself for. He had killed animals whilst in his wolfish form before but he had found a way to look past it, convinced himself it was only his wolfish instincts and, after all, most normal wizards eat meat. But to bite another human? That was something else, something entirely different. He remembered with a shudder the one night when his brother had almost got to close.

"Are you alright Remus?" Madame Pomfrey asked with sudden concern, noticing the boys paled face.

"It's just the moon Madame Pomfrey," Remus responded automatically, using the standard excuse. Not buying it the young nurse raised her eyebrows, causing them to disappear beneath her thick, brown fringe. However, as the boy said nothing she reluctantly nodded her head and said

"Ok Remus, if you say so. Now you better get off to lessons, your Professor must be wondering where you've got to." Seeing a panicky look spread across Remus's face she said "Oh don't worry dear. Just say that you've seen me and they will know what you mean," she smiled as Remus approached the exit before quickly turning back around to face her again.

"Do all the Professors know my… situation?" he asked nervously, looking down at his feat as he did so.

"Yes," Madame Pomfrey replied, slightly pursing her lips as she said it.

"Oh."

The nurse smiled encouragingly at him but, as he turned back around to make his way out of the hospital wing, Remus couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his stomach.

By the time Remus reached Charms the lesson was over and he only had time to quickly introduce himself to the rather short professor (rather short was an understatement- the tiny man was standing on a stack of books and yet only reached Remus's waste. Miniscule, Remus decided, was a more appropriate description) before being dragged away by James, Peter and Sirius who were all desperate to get to lunch. Unsurprising as soon as they sat themselves down at the Gryffindor table Sirius and Peter both piled a mountain of food onto their plates, wolfing it down before scanning the table ravenously for more.

"Don't worry you didn't miss much in charms," James said to Remus as he quietly picked at his food, pushing the chicken around the plate with his fork, "We just did that levitation charm that you and Sirius learnt in defence so really you didn't miss anything. Although we did do some notes so you might want to-"

"Merlin this is a boring conversation!" Sirius interrupted through mouthfuls of potato, "the poor boys already got one headache James, no need to give him another." Remus and James both opened their mouths to protest, but as Sirius continued it was obvious that they would be unable to get a word in edgeways.

"I mean, really, you're talking about lessons and notes – I'm sorry James but when did you ever take notes? And you're actually going on about that sort of thing when there are much more pressing matters at hand! I mean, we still haven't sorted out how we're going to get back at _that," _Sirius nodded his head towards where Colin sat, eating alone. All four boys leaned down the table, staring intently at the blond boy. Remus could literally hear James and Sirius's brains working as they glared at him.

"We really need a plan," Sirius said. James looked up, a familiar glint appeared in the young Gryffindors eyes and an evil smile spread across his face.

"I've got it."

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><p>update: I have now merged chapters 11 and 12 together :) so I've put both authors notes underneath :)<p>

**AN: Sorry for the really short chapter, but hopefully you liked it :) once again thanks to everyone who subscribed added this story/me to their alerts and reviewed (especially those who often review, it really means a lot), as per usual the response to all the reviews is at the bottom below this :) unfortunately I'm having to face the reality that me exams start on Friday so this is going to mean either really short chapters (like this one) or no chapters for the next two weeks, depending on how much I'm procrastinating :) (which, to be fair tends to be a lot) :) If I'm honest I will almost certainly have another one up this week, I'm just preparing you for the possibility that I won't :) so yeh, please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts (constructive criticism and questions are always welcomed) and yeh, I hope you enjoyed this :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Just AThoughtx 521/12 . chapter 10

Hey :)

Really love this story so far! It's brilliant.

& I love the DADA professor :D

I look forward to you updating (& good luck on your exams) :)

Xx

**_thank you so much :) I will try and update soon :)_**

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><p>Sliverwing and Shiver 521/12 . chapter 10

Thank you repling to the review.

Oggie's sweet.

Remus, I love Remus

**_You're welcome :) and thank you for reviewing again :) haha :) and yeh.. I love Remus too :) _**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 520/12 . chapter 10

I liked this story but if you don't know that no one can apparate on Hogwarts ground but Dumbledore in certain situations! Update sooooooon!

**_Thank you :) and I know that it was a lazy way of me getting out of having to write 'and then Remus's headache started to get worse and, looking at James with a pained expression, the boys made their good byes, rechecked the directions and made their way off to the hospital wing' or something like that which I don't think really works :) however I think it is possible (in the Potter universe) for house-elves to apparate and disapparate within Hogwarts as anti apparition/disapparition spells that apply to wizards don't apply to them as they use a different kind of magic. We saw in Deathly Hallows that Dobby was able to side-apparate Luna, Hermione, Griphook, Olivander, Harry and Ron out of Malfoy Manor despite these anti apparate charms being put in place :) Also, although it never says it anywhere in the books (that I'm aware of) I think its generally thought that the way House-Elves go about sorting out Hogwarts without being seen is apparating everywhere. So yeah, I'm sorry as I do understand that it was a little bit of a lazy move on my part, but hopefully something I can use later as a clever device to help them orchestrate their pranks :)_**

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><p>Dndchk 520/12 . chapter 10

I'd suggest having them find out about Remus near the end if the first year, and have them start looking for a cure their second.

Also, please check your pranks to make sure they are do-able by first- second year students. Lots if fanfics I've read have them doing magic WAAAAY beyond their years, which is annoying.

By the way, Professor Slughorn was their potions teacher while they were in school- little reminder, just in case.

I loved the chapters and can't wait for the next! How often do you update?

**_Thank you :) that sounds good :) as I've said previously I'm keeping it to cannon and I know that they succeed to become animagi in their fifth year and find out in their second year so I am going to keep it at that (although obviously this is all according to Sirius and Remus, it is plausible that either James or Peter worked it out before hand and never said...) _**

**_And on the pranks front, yes, I completely agree :) don't worry :) as I said in a previous authors note, I have collected loads of ideas but most of them I can't get them to do till later in the story because there is no way in hell they would be able to perform the magic required. I might push it a little bit as I do want them to do something really good in their first year and they are all (with the exception of Peter) very bright. But yeah, don't worry :) I won't be too over the top:)_**

**_And thank you :) I think I've already written a chapter with him in so don't worry I know :) The one I'm not sure of is Flitwick. Basically in Snapes worst memory we see Flitwick as an invidulator of an O.W.L. and in Harrys time all the invidulators were not teachers at the school, however he refers to some of the people in the exam by their names, indicating he knows (/taught) them? Please tell me what you think as I'm not sure whether or not to have him teach them :) _**

**_And Thank you so much :) I update irregularly, once every few days. The quickest I will update is the day after the last update and the latest is.. urm.. well I won't leave this story not updated for more than a week unless I have something on in which case I will say in the authors note :)_**

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><p>Droupy48 520/12 . chapter 10

I didn't think it was rushed, or anything like that. I thought it was great, and I'm glad you're sticking to canon. Stories are much more interesting that way in my opinion. can't wait for the next chapter!

**_Thank you :) and yeh, I completely agree, stories in canon are way more interesting, especially if you get to see the events you saw originally but from someone elses perspective and background knowledge etc :) and thanks :) I will try and post soon :)_**

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><p><strong>AN: I am so so so sorry that this is so short, I have simply had no time. I'm so sorry :( and I have more bad news; I tried to write on from this to transfiguration (the next lesson) but I got major writers block : And especially as I'm having to squeeze writing this in with revision I don't have time to work through it and get past it :/ I know that potterhead1997 really wanted to see this lesson, but I think that for now at least I'm going to have to skip it out :( please don't hate me :( on a brighter note can I just say thank you to everyone who reviewed last week, but chousi in particular as they reviewed more or less every single chapter in a single day :) but thank you so much to everyone as it really makes my day and is part of my motivation for writing :) As soon as exams are over I will write longer chapters (the last two in particular have been ridiculously short and for that I am sorry) but yeah, until then this is what your going to have to put up with :( sorry :(**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Toby 525/12 . chapter 11

It's ok we love you! More importantly we love your story! O totally understand about exams, did a levels about 3 years ago. I won't ask you to update soon, exams arenway more important!

_**Thank you so so much :) and yeah, these exams arn't anywhere near as important (thank god) I'm in year 10 so apart from a few GCSE's there all just internal :) they will be over by next next week so I promise to update loads then :D**_

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><p>Potterhead 523/12 . chapter 1

Just read the first chapter and I love it already!

_**Thankyou so much :D**_

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><p>Sliverwing and Shiver 523/12 . chapter 11

Way to go Madame Pomfrey. I like her!

And I have to say, Flitwick as a teacher would be good.

**_Haha :) thankyou and yeah, as you could probably tell from the start of this chapter, Flitwick is a professor :D (YAY!)_**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 522/12 . chapter 11

Ok I am fine with that! Update sooooooon!

**_I will try my best :)_**

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><p>Dndchk 522/12 . chapter 11

I think flitwick was a teacher then- i think the examiners were only for the practicals (not counting HOM because you cant do a practical for that)

I was going to have them find out either late first/ early second in my story. Not sure yet.

I agree with you about the bright students thing, so maybe about 2 years above their level?

Please try to make the chapters longer!

_**Thankyou, thats very very helpful :) and once my exams are over I will try and make them longer (the last one was riddiculously short and for that I'm sorry)**_

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><p>Droupy48 522/12 . chapter 11

great chapter (of course!) I wish I could leave longer reviews, but I have this horrible invention called "homework" to do :( but they'll be longer once summer break starts, I promise! Anyways, loved the interaction between remus and pomfrey :)

_**Thankyou :) and honestly, its more enough that you always leave reviews :) Its so so so nice and I really apreciate it so thankyou :D**_

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><p>Chousi 522/12 . chapter 11

Oooh sweet Madame Pomfrey ! :)

More i read your story, more i became addict. So as an addict i will certainly say "can't waiiiiiit to the next chapter!" :D

Don't worry about your exams, i totally understand your situation (i'm in the same than/as(?)you.I'm right in my examen session. But i do know too that FF writters can also be addict to upload chapter and to read their reviews :p At least, that's my case -').

Study come first ! (but we need break while studying right ?...Okay i'm sorry i'll stop. i hope you'll give us shorts chapter that i'll read during my study break too )

**_thankyou :) and haaha yeah your right, I am a little bit addicted to writing, uploading and reading reviews :) haha, I don't know what it is about it, but I love it :) And I'm really sorry but unless I write another chapter this weekend there is almost no chance of another chapter till next monday :( I'm really sorry :(_**

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><p>Chousi 522/12 . chapter 10

"You know, there really should be a map to this place" such a great idea to let James say that ! :D

And i looove how they discover a "first" hogwarts secret :D

_**haha :) thanks :)**_

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><p>Chousi 522/12 . chapter 9

Poor Remus !

i sure hate the herbology professor !

I just love your fic, with each chapter, i can't wait to go to read the next one

**_same :( and thankyou, I just love reading all your reviews :) honestly thankyou so much for reviewing every chapter :)_**

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><p>Woodshrew 522/12 . chapter 11

Please continue soon!

_**I will try my best :D**_

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><p>Chousi 522/12 . chapter 8

I love their plan :)

but i'm confuse, i can't really understand what the spell is about, probably because i can't understand the word "hex" -'

can you help me to understand how the spell you invented is great ?

_**Of course :) I didn't make the spell up, the fantastic goddess JK Rowling did, she just never had a character say the spell aloud so I made up the words. Its the one that ginny is very good at ( I think she used it in OotP when they were in umbridges office) and basically it makes the snot from your nose spread over your face and then sprouts bat wings from it, which attack the the person (I think) :) and a hex is a type of spell, its a slightly darker version jinx :) did that explain it? if not tell me and I will have another go explaing :)**_

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><p>Chousi 522/12 . chapter 7

Slueter is interesting, i don't know if i admire her technique or if i just don't like her

**_:) fair enough_**

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><p>Chousi 522/12 . chapter 6

Aha Sirius-ly xD

**_:D_**

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><p>Chousi 522/12 . chapter 5

i have to clarify my previous review : Colin made me think of Hermione on his "i know everything" side, not on his prejudice about the others houses

now a review for this chapter : he's a jerk !

And i love how we feel sorry for petter and how we kind of have sympathy for him, even knowing what he will do later.

**_Don't worry, I completly see what you were getting at :) and yeah haha :) thanks :)_**

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><p>Chousi 522/12 . chapter 4

i thought about the first-year Hermione while i was reading the conversation with Colin

**_Hahaaha :) yeah, I can kinda see it :)_**

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><p>Chousi 522/12 . chapter 3

i love this chapter, i dont really know why... but i love it ! :)

English isn't my first language so i can't really appreciate how is the writting of english stories but i actually love how you describe the states of mind of James, SIrius or Remus.

So now that you know i'm not a native english speaker, i hope you'll forgive my spelling/grammar mistakes in the next reviews :D

_**Thank You :D and don't worry, I honestly couldn't tell it wasn't your first language :) you speak english very well :)**_

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><p>potterhead1997 522/12 . chapter 11

This was reallly good but I just now thouht about it, Where is professor Sprout? she was the herbology teacher at the time i think. Just a thought

_**I did loads of research and couldn't find anything saying she was definatly a professor back then (although I could have very very easily overlooked something) :/ so yeh, I just decided to go and create my own professor, sorry :/**_

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><p>Chousi 522/12 . chapter 2

gosh i love the fact that james & sirius were the first students who "lose house points before actually belonging to a house."

xD

and i love how you describe how jerks they were ! cause, let's face it, James & Sirius were actually arrogant and stupid kids x) never mind, i loove them ;)

_**haha :) thanks :) and yeah, I'm actually one of those people who don't think that they were ever complete jerks, they just had jerky moments :)**_


	12. Love Potions

James took a deep breath as he walked down the Gryffindor table. He was trying to look as confident yet innocent as possible as he approached a group of sixth year Gryffindor girls all perched at the very end. They appeared to be drooling over some wizard in a magazine, but all looked up towards James as soon as he got too close, clearly bemused at the first year walking towards them. One girl with long, blonde hair leaned in towards her friends whispering

"I swear they're shrinking every year, we could never have been that small," causing James's cheeks to flush slightly. Never the less he was a man on a mission and, determined to get revenge on Colin, was prepared to do what he had to do.

"Hello" he said nervously, his hands trembling slightly as he greeted them. They looked up at him expectantly. Taking yet another deep breath he blurted out,

"You don't happen to have any love potions?" The reaction was instantaneous. The girls all started to giggle and coo over him, repeatedly asking, "So who's the special lady?" and telling each other how 'cute' it was. James cursed Sirius for making him do this and felt his face burn a deep red. Yes, admittedly it had been his idea, a brilliant one at that, to give Colin a love potion, but it didn't mean that he had to do all the embarrassing bits like actually sourcing out and collecting one. Once the girls giggles had died down the blonde looked at him kindly.

"Look, just tell this girl you like her. It's only your first day at school together, give it time."

"What!" James said immediately, taking a step back, "No it's not for me!"

"Oh- is it for a _friend_?" the girl asked, giving him a knowing look.

"Yes, it actually is," James said unconvincingly, "Ok, well not exactly a friend but… Look, can you just please give me a love potion, I have money and I will pay you whatever you want."

"Who said we even have love potions. Their banned items and you can't smuggle anything past filch."

It was James's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Bearing in mind that I was able to smuggle an entire box of fireworks into Hogwarts and then set them off in defence against the dark arts, I would say that that is a tiny exaggeration, don't you think?"

"Wait, you're the first year that set off the fireworks in Slueters class?" the Girls expressions changed from ones of pity to admiration. Unbeknownst to James, the young Gryffindors antics in defence against the dark arts had spread around the house like wildfire, indeed this sentence completely shook the sixth years of their belittling and patronising attitude towards James.

"That's very impressive," The blonde said with all sincerity.

"I wouldn't have had the balls to do that in first year, let alone on my first day."

"Please Hattie, you wouldn't have had the balls to do it last year, or this for that matter" The blonde said to her friend, before turning back to James.

"How would you feel giving me the love potion if I was to tell you that it would be used for similar reasons?" James asked. The blonde and Hattie looked at each other before the girl gave a quick nod to her friend.

"I guess, as long as you promise not to go using it on some poor, unsuspecting first year girl?"

"I promise," James said, looking the girl directly in the eye to prove he meant it.

"Ok, well I will give you the weakest one I have. If you meet me in the common room after dinner I can gi-"

"Tonight's too late!" James said quickly, hastily adding, "I was just planning on using it in the next lesson."

"What's your next lesson?"

"Transfiguration."

There was a beat of silence as the girls all looked at him, not sure whether to be amused at or frightened for the young boy stood in front of them. The blonde however, after slight hesitation, reached into her robes and retrieved a small glass vial with a soft crimson liquid inside.

"This is something a little bit stronger than the one upstairs," she said, reducing her voice to a whisper as she handed it over, explaining the instructions, "If you want x to fall in love with y you take one hair from y, put it in this and then get x to drink it. But you didn't hear that from me and you certainty didn't get this from me," She said threateningly before relaxing her voice and loudly saying, "And that's how you get to the classroom," before quickly shooing him off and pretending to return to drooling over the wizard in the magazine. However, as James made his way back over to his friends he heard short snippets of the sixth year girls' conversation.

"Is he doing what I think his doing?"

"Do you actually think he will go through with it?"

"But, wait, how's he going to get her to drink it?"

"You think he's getting _her_ to drink it!"

"It's not like he can find a way of getting her hair is it?"

Well, James thought to himself as he stuffed the small vial in an inner pocket, they would soon find out.

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><p><strong>AN: sorry again for writing such a short chapter. obviously i really should be revising but, yeah, this is a hell of a lot more interesting :) thankyou so so much to everyone who reviewed last time (especially as, lets face it, there wasn't much to review) I will try and post again soon :D (also I got past my writers block, as you can probably tell, and WILL be writing about the first transfiguration lesson)<strong>

**~millie-mae.**

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><p>Sliverwing and Shiver 527/12 . chapter 12

Hehe.I love the way you reply to the reviews.

And James taking notes? Weird.

**_Haha :) I'm glad you like it :) I was worrid at first that people would hate it, but I guess that if they don't like it they can just skip it :) and yeah haha, to be fair he didn't take notes, he was just telling Remus that they (as in the rest of the class) did._**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 526/12 . chapter 12

I know it is a complex spell but the marauders should learn the obliviate charm prank collin and then use it on him to make him forget who did the prank on him! Update soooooon!

_**that is a brilliant idea :D oh and when I use it don't worry, I will credit you for the idea :)**_

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><p>Dndchk 526/12 . chapter 12

Too short! I'm looking forward to when your exams are over since it means longer chapters!

Speaking if, chapter four is up. Just fyi

_**Hahah I think everyone is waiting for the exam period to be over :) and thank you so much for telling me :) I will read and review as soon as I get the chance :)**_

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><p>Woodshrew 526/12 . chapter 12

I wonder what they are going to do to him?

_**well I'm guessing that this chapter answered your question :D**_

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><p>Elfa 526/12 . chapter 12

Update!1

_**will do :)**_

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><p>potterhead1997 526/12 . chapter 12

It's ok that this chapter was short don't worry nobody else has had time to write either it is the end of the school year. DO NOT TRY TO HURRY JUST SO YOU CAN GET THE NEXT CHAPTER TAKE AS LONG AS YOU NEED!

**_hahaha :) thanks :) message recived loud and clear :)_**

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><p>Chousi 526/12 . chapter 12

You're welcome for the rewiews, you're totally deserve it ! :)

And thanks TO YOU for writting this story :)And for responding about my questions.:) I understand what spell it was now, thanks :D

I really love it :)

And don't worry about the shortness of your chapter. In my case, I'm just happy that you left one (after that i just failed one of my exams but WHATEVER ')

Good luck for yours :)

_**aww thankyou :) and don't worry about your exams :) I'm sure you won't fail and if you do it won't matter in the long run :)**_

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><p>chloeivy 526/12 . chapter 12

Ive just started reading this and I'm really enjoying it! I'd love it if the chapters were longer though, I feel like each one is ending to soon:( please update soon:)!

**_thank you :) and yeh, I'm in exam week at the moment so I'm (meant to be) revising so I can't write chapters that long, however once it goes into half term I will try my best to write them longer :)_**

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><p>Toby 526/12 . chapter 12

Actually, it says on pottermore that the spell for bat bogey hex is Mucus Ad Nauseum, or something like that :D

_**oh yeh :) I feel a little silly now :S thank you so much for telling me, I will change it as soon as I get a chance :) **_


	13. Hot for Teacher

James proudly held out the crimson liquid, explaining to the group how the love potion worked as they walked to transfiguration.

"So all we have to do is get one of McGonagall's hairs, put it in this and then get Colin to drink it?" Remus asked pessimistically as they passed around the vial, closely examining it.

"Yep, that's it."

"Right and how are you going to do that?" Remus asked, shooting James a dubious look.

"Ah, the question is how are _we_ going to do it, dear Remus," James corrected him.

"And the answer is…?"

"Undecided."

"James, how the hell are you going to get a Prof-"

"-I'm sure we will come up with something," James said hastily, cutting Remus off as they entered the transfiguration classroom, paranoid someone would over hear their brilliant plan. _Not that there was any need_, he thought to himself as he took a seat at the back of the classroom; the room was virtually empty apart from a couple of eager Ravenclaw students and a cat. Although this surprised Remus, who was expecting the seemingly prim and proper McGonagall to be there punctually at the very least, James didn't let it bother him and continued plotting with Sirius in a hushed tone. They only stopped when the tabby cat slinked its way up to them, rubbing itself against Sirius's bag and then knocking into his leg, making the boy jump.

"Arghh!" he shouted, practically kicking the cat away before scowling at James, Remus and Peter who were all laughing.

"What!" He said angrily, "I'm not a cat person alright? And look, it's gone and left its cat hairs all over my bag!"

"Don't go getting your knickers in a twist Sirius," James said, laughing at his grumpy friend.

"I'm not getting my knickers in a twist," Sirius said loudly, causing the Gryffindor girls who had just entered the classroom to snigger.

"What!" he snapped, turning away from them, grumbling to himself. "I just don't like cats."

"Alight Sirius, we get it, sorry," James said kindly, before leaning closer to his friend to whisper, "Just focus on the task in hand." He lifted the vial back out of his pocket and handed it to Sirius, causing all anger to sweep from the boys face, replaced instead with a mask of concentration to the point where Sirius's eyebrows had seemingly knotted together in deep thought.

"We need a way of getting one of McGonagall's hairs and to somehow persuade Colin to drink this," James said before looking at Remus and Peter on the next table, about to ask for ideas when Colin entered the room, stopping in the doorway, searching for a place to sit.

"Hey Colin, over here," James called out immediately, beckoning the young Gryffindor to come and sit near him. Colin flicked his long, blonde fringe out of his face, looking dubiously towards James before turning his nose up slightly and shaking his head, seating himself instead next to one of the Ravenclaw girls who quickly leaned away from the boy, shuffling her chair and books closer to her friends.

"Aww, come on Colin, come and sit with us, I saved you a space," James said, stepping out of his seat to approach the boy.

"Look, go sit with your friends," the girl muttered, angling her back away from Colin.

"Please?" James asked, giving his best puppy dog eyes, "Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Fine," Colin relented, grudgingly picking up his bag and dumping it next to James'. James smiled at Colin before shooting Sirius a quick look, giving him a less than subtle thumbs up.

"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot," James started. Colin immediately snorted, turning his nose up at the boy. Colin was about to open his mouth and speak when the cat bounded onto the teachers desk, landing with a loud thump, startling the class into silence. The tabby cat's green eyes surveyed the class and James was sure that it gave him and Sirius a stern look before proceeding to leap of the desk. This time the class gasped in shock. Instead of landing with another loud thump the cat had diapered, leaving in its place a young woman whose raven black hair was scraped back into a severe bun.

"Professor McGonagall?" Colin gapped, looking up at the stern witch in disbelief.

"No it Dumbledore in a freaking dress," Sirius muttered.

"I heard that Mr Black," The professor said sharply, "five points from Gryffindor." The Gryffindor girls all groaned, one even reached for a notebook and appeared to add five lines onto a tally chart before sneakily taking money off the surrounding girls.

"And betting is not permitted Miss McClowers," McGonagall said strictly. The girl however was too busy counting the money and checking it against the tally to take any notice.

"Matilda McClowers, look at me when I am speaking to you." The girl jumped at the use of her name, quickly looking up into the Professors harsh green eyes with a surprising amount of confidence.

"Another five points from Gryffindor for betting during lessons," McGonagall said, before sharply turning her back and walking up to the front of the classroom to properly start the lesson. The girl however was completely unfazed by this and grinned, mouthing to her friends that they owed her more money before adding an extra five lines to her tally.

"Martie that wasn't part of the deal," they protested, but were quickly silenced following a sharp look from the curly haired girl that McGonagall would have been proud of. James found all of this highly amusing and was about to send a note over asking if he too could participate in the bet when he received a short, sharp jab in the ribs from Sirius.

"Oi!" he said loudly before being shushed.

"McGonagall's' hair!" The boy hissed excitedly "I've got it!" Sirius victoriously held up a few strands of hair in his hand.

"How the hell did you manage that?" James asked his eyes wide in wonder as he placed his hand into his robes, searching for the small vial.

"When she was a cat she rubbed against my bag and left them there… wait, will they still work if she was a cat?"

"I don't see any reason why not," James responded, taking the hairs out of Sirius's hand and shoving them into the potion. The crimson liquid bubbled slightly, letting off a small bit of steam before turning a light pink.

"Hey Sirius, I have this amazing juice," James said loud enough for Colin to hear "It, like, increases your brain power!"

"Really!" Sirius said in his best fake excited voice, which, in all honesty was a little bit crap. This meant that James was even more surprised when he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Colin was intently interested, lapping up the conversation.

"Yeah, It's legal and everything, it's just really expensive. I bet when we drink this we will be the cleverest pupils in the whole year," James continued unconvincingly.

"In the whole school more like," Sirius nodded.

"Let's drinks some," As James and Sirius pretended to drink they could hear Remus and Peter on the opposite tables stifling their laughter at the pairs appalling acting. Colin, however, was buying every lie that came out of James mouth and was looking hungrily at the potion.

"Wow, I feel so smart," James said before placing the love potion in the space where his desk and Colin's met before loudly announcing, "I'm going to go to the toilet." As James walked briskly up to the front of the class, interrupting McGonagall's lesson, Colin looked at the little vial of pink liquid. The words _cleverest in the school_ floated around his head. He reasoned with himself that if James and Sirius had drunk it couldn't be anything that bad. Really, he thought to himself, it was worth trying, just in case. He turned his back on Sirius before impulsively grabbing the vial. He clenched it in his fist for two seconds, looking up to check no one was watching before unscrewing the top and downing it in one. Before he had any time to contemplate what he'd done or think about where he would hide the empty bottle he felt a warm feeling sweep through him. He looked up at the front of the class to see the most beautiful witch telling James off for wanting to go to the toilet.

"You should have gone during lunch," She said, berating him in a voice that made Colin's heart turn to mush and melt away. He looked lustfully at the witch, asking himself how he hadn't noticed how attractive she was at the start of the lesson. She had sexy black hair, tied up in a cute little bun on top her head. Her glistening green eyes sparkle radiantly through her gorgeous glasses in the dim light. But who needs light, Colin thought to himself as he gazed at the stunning sorceress, when this beauty was in front of him.

Colin was so busy drooling over Professor McGonagall that he didn't notice the laughter spread around the room as people turned around in their seats to look at him. Indeed, even McGonagall stopped in her tracks when she noticed the boy's dazed expression coupled with the little bit of dribble sliding down his cheek.

"Are you quite alright Mr Jackson?" She asked.

"Yes," he said, dreamily gazing into her eyes.

"Alright, well as I was saying transfiguration is a ver-"

"-Sorry, Professor but can I just say that despite being a transfiguration teacher you're still very charming." McGonagall pursed her lips as sniggers filled the classroom.

"Thank you Mr Jackson, but as that is verging on inappro-"

"You really must be magical as I've certainty fallen under your spell," Colin felt himself standing up as he said this, feeling the need to shout it out for the world to hear.

"Really, Mr Jackson that is quite enough-"

"Professor, are you using the confundus charm or are you just naturally mind blowing?" Colin was standing on his desk at this point, stretching his hands out towards the petrified teacher as he yelled at the top of his lungs,

"I love you Professor McGonagall!" He then felt the urge to jump of the desk like she had done, so he leapt and landed on the floor, falling at her feet.

"I think I've fallen for you," he said cheesily, stretching out his hands to grab the ends of her robes. McGonagalls face was contorted with emotion as she backed away from the deranged boy. The entire class had begun to leave their seats, gathering round in a semi circle, watching the spectacle in absolute hysterics.

"Mr Jackson I am warning you," the professor said in a loud, authoritative voice, "Take your hands off me or this is the last time you will set foot in this class room."

"But I want to make magic- with you! My wand is at the ready, you can give it a polish any time, anywhere, even in your libraries restricted sectio-" Colin didn't manage to finish his sentence as he was stunned by a red jet of light from Professor McGonagall's wand, knocking him out cold.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," She said stiffly, for once at loss of what else to say. James almost felt sorry for the teacher who was obviously flustered and clearly unsure of what to do with the immobile first year on the floor.

"Would you like me to go and get Madame Pomfrey?" Lily asked kindly, also sensing the professor's distress.

"Yes," McGonagall answered curtly, seating herself at her desk and taking a deep breath, "Thank you Miss Evans"

Lily smiled and turned to make her way out of the door, before faltering and turning back round. "I'm actually not quite sure where it is," she said apologetically.

"I can show you," said James, momentarily forgetting that the red head hated him. Lily raised her eyebrows at him challengingly.

"And how do you know that_, Potter?_" She spat out his last name, obviously still upset about being capsized and ending up in the lake yesterday.

"I took Remus their earlier _Evans,_" he said with equal distaste.

"Ok, if you two want to go and fetch her that would be fantastic, thank you," McGonagall said, taking yet another deep breath and then standing up to try and continue teaching the lesson, as though nothing had happened.

"Ok" James murmured, following Lily out of the door.

Lily and James walked down the corridor refusing to talk to each other. It was only once Lily turned in the wrong direction that James spoke.

"It's the other way," he said, correcting her and breaking the harsh silence. Lily felt her cheeks flush as red as her hair but still said nothing.

"Well we might as well speak," James said coaxingly, "Now that were both in Gryffindor we are going to be seeing a lot of each other."

Lily stifled a laugh as she continued walking, determined to not engage in conversation with the boy.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, if that makes a difference," James said loudly. Lily spun around quickly on her heels, proving that it did.

"I mean it, I'm really sorry about yesterday- the boat and stuff. It was wrong," James said, looking hopefully into her green eyes.

"And will Sev be getting the same apology?" She asked testily. James knotted his eyebrows in confusion, obviously unsure who 'Sev' was, before remembering and hastily changing his expression from one of confusion to immense dislike.

"Oh," Lily said, turning back on her heels.

"No," James said quickly, "Yeah, I guess he will. Do you want me to say sorry to him?"

"What do you care what I want, Potter," She snapped, once again saying his last name as if it were some vile word. James's face fell.

"Well, I guess I don't care," he said, immaturely, angered at her reaction. He had, after all, been attempting to negotiate peace. "And I withdraw my apology Evans."

"Fine," she said, once again turning on her heels.

"Fine."

"Fine," she repeated, at loss at what else to say as she began to march down the corridor.

"But be careful Evans," James called out.

"Why?" She said mockingly, "What are you going to do, throw me into the lake again?"

"Yeah, maybe. That or make you fall in love with a professor or-"

"You did it!" she screeched, stopping mid walk and interrupting his rambling threat. He clasped his hand over his mouth, realising at once that he had revealed too much.

"You did that to Colin!" She said, pointing her finger dramatically at James.

"No," James said unconvincingly. A look of delight sprung into Lily's eyes as fear seeped into James's.

"Oh what am I going to do with this information?" She said rhetorically, more to herself than him.

"No, Evans, don't," He panicked, "Please don't tell, McGonagall will kill us."

"Us?" Lily repeated, her eyes becoming wider by the minuet as her smile continued to stretch across her face, "So it was you and Sirius," she deducted, automatically assuming that Remus and Peter weren't involved.

"Prove it." James said coldly, attempting to regain his confidence and composure as he continued to walk down the corridor.

"Oh I will Potter," she said menacingly, "All I have to do is wait till Colin's awake and then I'm sure he can tell me all about it."

James cursed himself as Lily strode ahead, her red hair dancing behind her with every step.

"We'll see about that," he muttered, furiously trying to think of a way out of his sticky situation, "We will see."

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><p>update: once again whilst going through and editing I have decided to combine two chapters so I've put both of the authors notes below :)<p>

**AN: as you may have gathered from the fact that this is the longest chapter I have written (YAY) and that I have updated this story three times in three days, revision is not going well :( the problem is that I can't sleep at the moment (im an insomniac) so I wrote all of this at around 4 in the mourning last night (meaning that its highly likely that there are a lot of errors and that parts may not make sence- for that I apologise) I know that this probably didn't live up to expectation (due to the time it was written) but yeah, I'm trying my best :) Can I just thank everyone for the lovely reviews as i have now reached 100! I'm not the kind of person who counts reviews (ok I am, but what I mean is that I'm not obsessed with the number, more what they contain and the idea that someone likes (or dislikes) my story enough to take the time to tell me, or criticise me to help me get better) but I feel that this is a milestone, that especially in this highly stressful time, is amazing to get to :D so thank you all so so so much, your reviews all mean the world to me :) **

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Woodshrew 528/12 . chapter 13

Yeah well answered in my opinion, i cant wait!

Are they going to get found out?

_**haha :) I guess you will have to wait and see... (yeah, i um, havn't thought that far ahead yet :P)**_

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><p>anon 528/12 . chapter 9

Wow that was awesome please keep writing :)

_**thank you so much :)**_

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><p>Chousi 528/12 . chapter 13

I hope so thks :D

I love the way he's embarrased in front of the 6 year girls but also how he went back with all he needed.

I can't wait to read the next chapter & discover how the marauders will trap Colin ! x)

**_haha, yeah :) I hope you're not to disapointed :)_**

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><p>Dndchk 527/12 . chapter 13

Let me guess- they use either Snaoe's hair or Filch's. I can't wait to see what happens, and am glad he got the potion from somewhere. Lots seem to think a first year can brew a love potion...

**_nope, McGonagalls :) thought that would have been very very funny :) And yeah, as I've previously said although they are very very clever I don't want them to be able to do everything straight away. Although, to be fair, Hermione was able to brew polyjuice potion more or less by herself in secound year, so the idea of Remus, James and Sirius being able to make a weak, simple love potion isn't too far fetched :)_**

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><p>Sliverwing and Shiver 527/12 . chapter 13

Yeah, I guess so. :)

**_:)_**

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><p>FUCKYOU 527/12 . chapter 1

YOUR STORY IS SO FUCKING SHIT! I COULD WRITE BETTER THAN THIS GARBAGE IN MY SLEEP, JUST GO AND DO US ALL A FAVOUR AND LEAVE FANFICTION FOR FUCKING EVER! AND QUIT WRITING- YOUR SHIT!

**_ok, first intensly negative review :/ first of all if this is a flame then well.. I hope you had fun? ah well, better my story than someone else who might take it really badly :) However if this isn't a flame then fair enough, its your opinion and your entilted to it :) however in the future could you please give some constructive critism (if you feel the need to review again) so I can make my story better :) I am the first to admitt that my story is far, far from the heavinly standered set by JK Rowling so any and all constructive critism is welcomed, no matter how harshly it is phrased :)_**

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><p>blahhdiblah 527/12 . chapter 13

can not wait to see what they do to Colin (the bastered) :D update soon :)

_**will do :)**_

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><p>lucy 527/12 . chapter 13

love this so so so much :) I know you have exams but PLEASE update soon :)

_**Haha :) thank you, and yeah, iv done more writing than revision this week :)**_

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><p>chloeivy 527/12 . chapter 13

yaay, an extra reason to look forward to the week off:D

cant wait to see what's happening to Colin!

**_Week off! lucky :) and I hope you liked it :D_**

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><p>potterhead1997 527/12 . chapter 13

Ah I got really excited cause I thought that Mcgonagalls lesson was in this chapter! This chapter was great but if you dont' have transfiguration in the next chapter I am going to hunt you down and force you to write it:) lol haha jk

**_haha :) phew, I was worrid for a second when I saw this :D_**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 527/12 . chapter 13

Thank you sooo much for updateing sooon! And thanx for useing my odea later on I will keep checking for It in later chapters! Update sooon!

**_your welcome :) and, just to warn you, I won't probably use it untill at least third year (I don't want it to be too unrealistic), but I promise you that I will definatly use it (though maybe not on colin) :)_**

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><p><strong>AN: I am so so so sorry for how rubbish and short this chapter is and how long it has taken me to upload it. I forgot I had DofE right after my exams so have been hiking with a stupidly heavy bag through the pouring and freezing rain for the last two days meaning that I am exhausted and quite possibly ill. consider this as a chapter for me to just get back into the story as for the last week my head has been filled with other stuff, and im really not 'with it' at the moment. I also have my little cousins coming over from sweeden today so I might not be able to post a chapter for every day of the holidays as I had previously hoped, but, fingers crossed I should be able to write another one for tomorow (I'm thinking of skipping to Remus's first transformation) :) anyways I hope your all having a fantastic holiday things arn't to hard at school/work :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Sorenson Carlisle 529/12 . chapter 14

WOW THAT WAS AWESOME GREAT PRANK I LOVED IT! Keep going collin deserved it so much :)

**_Thank you so much :) will do :)_**

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><p>Woodshrew 529/12 . chapter 14

That was so funny!

_**thanks :)**_

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><p>Toby 528/12 . chapter 14

Lovely chapter, but I think you were making things go too fast. There would usually be a few chapters preperation for a prank but this one was quite a small o e so it was ok.

_**yeah, you've got a point :/ I will try and make all the big pranks more planned out, but I think I will keep smaller pranks like this more spontaneous :)**_

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><p>Droupy48 528/12 . chapter 14

finally caught up! very intertaining chapter! :) and don't listen to that idiot who flamed you, he's probably under a confundus charm

**_thanks :) and yeah :) probably ;) but hey, everyones entilted to their own opinion :)_**

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><p>Droupy48 528/12 . chapter 13

great chapter! loved the interraction between James and the girls :) to the next chapter! (still behind...)

_**haha :) thanks :) and thankyou for still reviewing every chapter you missed :) it ment a lot :)**_

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><p>Droupy48 528/12 . chapter 12

lol sirius was so funny :) on to the next chapter! (I'm behind since I havn't had internet for a bit)

_**haha :) poor you :( I remember when I moved house and we didn't have internet or tv for a few months- i nearly died, well bit of an exageration, but, you know :)**_

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><p>ukie-girl 528/12 . chapter 14

LOL, I was sure that McGonagall had heard the plan in the form of a cat! LMAO! Love all of those cheesy magic pick up lines!

Can't wait for more :) always on the lookout for your next update!

ukie-girl :)

_**yeah, Sirius beinging scared of cats saved them :) she was more concerend about beging kicked halfway across a classroom than what ever they were up to :) and thankyou :)**_

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><p>potterhead1997 528/12 . chapter 14

hahahhahahahahahaha perfect that is amazing I hope to god that she finds out it was james and sirius

**_:) well now that Lily knows I'm guessing that thats quite likely :) ..._**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 528/12 . chapter 14

Thats fine if you dont use it till third year I will wait! And it is your story so you can ise it on who ever you want! Update sooooon!

_**haha :) thanks :) and will do :)**_

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><p>Chousi 528/12 . chapter 1

Aaaah i just made a horrible mistake (well, a mistake i see ) with my review for the chapter 14 '

I just know its not "forgived" but something like "forgave" or "have forgiven" i'll never know when we used one or another x)

**_to be fair although your probably right I didn't even notice the mistake till you pointed it out :) ahah :)_**

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><p>Chousi 528/12 . chapter 14

Ok first i'm really chocked by a negative review you've got for chapter 13. I'm not entering in his/her game, but i think that if you don't like a story, you first don't insult the writter and then you have the politeness to explain why you don't like the stoey. But hey, that's just my point of view.

For my review now : i was thinking of Slueter (not quite sure about the spelling and yeah, too lazy to go back for see how it spells xD) but McGonagall is way better xD

I just had the feeling that the potion acted too quickly.

But it's kinda funny so i forgived you :p

And now i wonder how the next chapter will be with Lily and James :D

And also, if Professors will know that's them behind all this (i hope so xD) and how Colin will react x)

Thanks for this longer chapter we are blessed xD

_**ah well everyones entitled to their own opinion and to express it :) but yeah, your right, I think in retrospect it did act a little quickly :/ if I use a love potion again I will make sure it dosn't so thanks :) and I'm sorry this chapter wasn't too good :/ but I will be sure to write about Colins reaction :) and thank you for your long review :) it was very lovely and very helpful :)**_


	14. The First Transformation

**WARNING: although I think that this still fits the 't' rating this chapter is about Remus's first transformation, so isn't exactly a picnic. Although I deleted quite a bit of it as I though it was too graphic it still isn't advisable to read this if you are very squeamish. (to be fair I've probably hyped this up a bit too much so don't expect it to meet your now gruesome and fantastic expectations, It really isn't all that its just yeah- it isn't a picnic so I didn't want anyone to complain that it was too much to not have a warning) anyways, on with the chapter...**

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><p>Remus sat in the cold and the dark, waiting. The room that the school had arranged for his monthly transformations wasn't particularly comfortable, but containing an old bed and a few pieces of furniture it was a far cry from the rusty cell he normally used. He sighed, lying down on the bed, his body tingling in anticipation of the pain that was about to come. The waiting was the worst part, he decided, wrapping himself in the blankets, trying to get warm. It was the anticipation, dread and loneliness he felt that he hated most of all. He cast his mind to his friends almost in envy as he thought of them in the warmth of Gryffindor tower. Whilst he was here they were nestled in the comfort and luxury of grand four poster beds. He felt a shoot of pain run along his body as the jealousy overtook him, but it quickly subsided and he hated himself for hating his friends. That was another thing he strongly disliked: the way he felt before he transformed. His emotions became intense, aggressive and severer. Every full moon he felt himself fill with hatred, anger and other deeply negative emotions which grew with the agonising pain before everything became too much, the wolf broke through and everything went numb.<p>

_Don't think of that. _Remus thought determinedly, shivering not only from the cold, but in fear of what he was about to become, causing yet another spark of pain to run down his back. He forced himself to think again of his friends, ignoring the hot sensation beginning to cascade around his body. He hadn't told them where he was going, hadn't planned out an excuse, just slipped away before dinner to find Madame Pomfrey. He didn't think that they would have noticed; they were too preoccupied with Lily Evans. The small girl had found out that they had given Colin a love potion when she and James had been sent to find the hospital wing and had been hanging the threat of telling McGonagall over their heads for the past 24 hours. The whole thing was so stupid. He hated James for letting it slip and hated Evans for being such a pompous prat about it.

'ARHH!" he screamed as his body twitched in pain, a sharp stabbing sensation forming in his arms. He tried to let the anger and the pain go but could only think further about how bloody annoying James was and how ridiculous his and Sirius' ideas had become, especially since Colin gate. Struggling to control his emotions he writhed on the bed, thrashing his arms and legs about as the pain coursed through his body. But, once again, it took only a few minutes before he managed to gain control of his thoughts and the pain lessened.

_James, Sirius and Peter are my friends. James, Sirius and Peter are my friends. _He repeated, chanting the mantra through his head, trying to ward off the inevitable pain. It worked for only a few minutes before he once again felt himself fill with a searing agony that ran through his body. He let out a sharp scream as the pain overtook him; he felt as though he was on fire as the sensation cascaded through him and, as his screams became entwined with small sobs, he heard the unmistakable first crack of a broken bone. He roared out as his whole skeleton pushed against his skin, breaking beneath it as his entire body began to transform, causing a whole wave of intense pain to rush through him, leaving behind an ache and concentrated stabbing sensation. Remus's head felt as though it was about to explode as his skull changed, mutilating his face as his skeleton mutilated his body, the agony forcing him into a state of semi consciousness. The only thing he was now aware of was the torturous burning coursing through him as cried and sobbed and screamed. His arm arched outwards, breaking at an unnatural angle as further cracks indicated his ever changing form.

'It hurts,' he sobbed desperately as the pain momentarily lessened, allowing his limp body to lie there for a brief few moments, breathing heavily, interrupted only by each pathetic whimper. But then the feeling returned and he screamed out as once again his body raged, filling every inch of him with intense pain. He shrieked, writhing on the bed, uncontrollably kicking and stretching out his legs and arms as the wolf within in him began to emerge. He grabbed hold of the head of the bed, ripping it from its body, trying to find an outlet for his pain. It didn't work so instead he took to the sheets, tearing them apart, slashing them as the pain intensified in his fingers. Catching his breath he looked down, watching a harsh, yellowy nail rip itself from beneath his skin and emerge at the end of his finger. He screamed again, yelling as the torture continued, pain searing through his body as the wolf took over. He fell backwards onto the harsh cold ground and continued thrashing about as his spine arched against his back, harshly pushing at his stretched skin before snapping into place, causing further waves of agony to cascade through him. He felt his nose push up against itself, forming a snout as his pupils pressed inwards, creating slits. He thrashed against the floor as his arms and legs continued to change, agony searing through his mutilated body before finally it reached the point where it was all too much and he felt a numbness take over. He was the wolf.

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><p><strong>AN: I know it dosn't quite look it but this is infact a lot longer than the last chapter, so for those asking for longer chapters I am trying my best :) I'm sorry If it seems a bit out of place though, If you think it needs another chapter inbetween this and the last one please say and I will do it, I was going to originally but I couldn't think of anything interesting to write : To clarify this takes place the day after chapter 15 :) I was a bit worried about writing about Remus's transformations and held back quite a bit, but I hoped you liked it and don't think it was too much or too little. If you're interested my 'inspiration' (so to speak) came from tylers transformations on the vampire diaries (which is a fantastic show and nothing like twilight), and its well worth youtubing if you have a minute :) anyway hope your all alright :) please review, favourite, add to alerts etc as it means a lot and thank you so so so much to those who do, especially those who review with every update :) it means a hell of a lot :) so thanks :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>judichi 64/12 . chapter 15

ARGH! I know that there only in first year but I so want them to get together now :) your story and the way you write it are fantastic, update soon :)

_**although I can kind of see what your saying, I'm sorry but isn't going to happen :) and thank you so much :)**_

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><p>anonomouse 64/12 . chapter 15

I always forgett to review your chapters but yours is one of the few stories that I constantly keep my eye out for :) I LOVE IT :) IT IS BRILLIANT :) PLEASE CONTINUE :)

_**thankyou so much for reviewing, even if it is only this once. Every review (negative and positive) means so so much to me :) its honestly so so nice and ridiculously motivational :) so thanks :)**_

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><p>potterheadmadnessxxx 64/12 . chapter 15

yeah it was short but it was cute :) kinda verging on fluff :) update soon :)

**_haha, yeah kinda I guess :) thanks :)_**

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><p>lucy 64/12 . chapter 15

AHHH loved it :) update! update! update!

**_thank you :D and will do :)_**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 64/12 . chapter 15

Ok please update sooooon! I think they should prank lily in some way and then she should prank them back! Update soooooon!

**_will do :) and yeah, that was the plan(ish) :D_**

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><p>Chousi 64/12 . chapter 15

Waw i think this chapter ISN'T rubbich ! Seriously, while i was reading i was thinking "i hope she won't forget that Lily don't "fall for James" too soon" and i was sooo wrong to think that ! :p

And also, it's kind of stupid to think that because after all, its just the second day at Hogwards ! :D

So i really think you're kept the characteres's spirits and i love it :D

Great chapter, really ! :)

Can't wait to see the first transformation

Your story is just a fiction with lots of things i can't wait actually and i also love the way you write :)

Ps : i'm sorry but i laught a lot when I see your comment about you and how you were hiking under the rain. Just picturing it and (sorry again') it was funny :p I have to say that, as a girl scout in Belgium (rain rules here -' ) I have known this kind of situation :p

I hope you're not too sick :/

Waw, long review, i'm pround of me :D

But you deserve LONG LONG LONG review ! :)

_**aww thanks :) and yeah, haha, trust me there is no chance of that happening on the secound day :) and I hope you like the first transformation :) and ahah :) don't worry, looking back it is funny, but at the time it is like death :/ and yeah, I'm not exactly feeling well at the moment, but hey it should clear up in a few days :) thank you soo so soo much for the long review :) it was amazing :D**_

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><p>Droupy48 64/12 . chapter 15

great chapter :) I liked the interaction between lily and james! it's so cute since I know they'll be together in the end lol anyways, it was very well written and I can't wait for the next update :D

**_aww thank you so so much :) I will try and update as soon as possible :)_**


	15. Afterwards

Remus woke to find himself lying in the hospital wing surrounded by clean sheets, his bed sectioned off from the rest of the ward by a simple white curtain. He could still feel a dull pain lingering in his body, short bursts of it shooting through him every time he moved. Cautiously turning his head to the left he saw Madame Pomfrey anxiously sitting by his side.

"How are you feeling Remus?" She asked tentatively, watching his dull, grey eyes continue to flick around the room with an air of concern.

"Oh I'm fine," he said weakly, well aware that the prominent scars slashed across his frail body proved otherwise. The nurse gave a small, sad laugh.

"Really, Remus. I may not have obtained O's in all my N.E. but you don't have to be Merlin to see that that isn't the case." She put her hand delicately against his head, checking the boys temperature, before reaching into her skirt pockets for a tiny bottle of bright pink fluid.

"Here take this," she said kindly, giving it to him, "it should help." Remus tried to reach his hand out to take it, but the sudden movement caused a jolt of pain, making the small boy flinch.

"Alright, take it easy," Madame Pomfrey said, "here, I can give it to you, just tip your head back slightly and I can pour it down. Its beedlewax juice," she informed him as he tilted his head backwards and she poured the hot liquid down his dry throat, "I made it specially, although I daresay that a nice chunk of chocolate would be just as good."

Remus smiled weakly at this, reaching into his robes and extracting the brown substance, offering a piece to Madame Pomfrey before eating the rest himself. It was at this point that he fully noticed the curtains running around his bed.

"Why are they there?" he said, weakly gesturing to the curtains.

"Ahh," said Madame Pomfrey with a slight smile, "Well you didn't tell your friends where you were going did you?"

Remus gave his head an uncomfortable shake.

"Well they were very worried about you. After making numerous inquires with a various number of staff, all of whom were unable to answer, they took it upon themselves to search Hogwarts for you. I believe that they were meant to have a detention tonight for wandering through the castle after hours."

Remus looked up guiltily, receiving a soothing look from Madame Pomfrey. "Don't worry dear, Professor Dumbledore talked to the teacher involved and smoothed it all out, saying they were only being good friends and that shouldn't be punished. From what I hear though, your friends are all very disappointed. They were apparently quite proud to be the first in your year to get a detention." She gave a short chuckle, "But anyway, at this point McGonagall realised that we would have to spin out some story to explain your disappearance over the next few days, so we told them that you had gone home to visit your sick mother."

"My mother's sick?" Remus said loudly, worriedly sitting straight up, causing pain to once again shoot around his body.

"Oh, no dear don't worry, she is in perfect health. It's just a small little white lie to explain away your transformations. But, while you're meant to be at your mother's house we can hardly have people seeing you down here- especially when Mr Jackson, a boy from your house and year who is occupying the hospital wing. So, we've put up this curtain around you."

"Colin's here?" Remus gave her a worried look, confused as to why he was still in the hospital wing, worried that the love potion he had helped convince Colin to take had left some lasting damage.

"Oh no need to look like that," Madame Pomfrey said in response to Remus's expression, "I fixed him up straight away, although he still seems to have a thing for Professor McGonagall," She gave Remus a knowing smile, "But despite this he just kept complaining and coming back, saying that I hadn't treated him correctly. He kept telling me how he was going to Susan me or something muggle like that."

"Sue," Remus said.

"That's the name," Madame Pomfrey nodded, "Well he was threatening to do that, saying that even the N.C.S. give better healthcare."

"N.H.S." Remus corrected.

"The N.H.S, that's the one. Well he was shouting and screaming, threatening to do all sorts. It did my head in, so I gave him a small potion that sent him into a strong sleep." Remus's eyebrows shot to the top of his head with surprise.

"Oh don't give me that look," Madame Pomfrey said sharply, giving Remus a mischievous smile, "You would have done it too if you had that brat moaning at you all day."

"Oh trust me I know, I have to live with him," Remus said, immediately regretting the bold statement as soon as it came out of his mouth, assuming that the nurse would scold him for being rude. Instead, however, she gave him a nod and yet another smile before adding,

"I don't know how you boys do it; if it were me I would have covered the boy in feathers and jam by now, I might have even slipped him a love potion." The nurse gave Remus yet another, wide grin, before she stood up, straightened her pinafore and left Remus's section laughing, leaving the boy's eyes wide and mouth gaping open in disbelief. He had no idea how she had even begun to guess that they were the ones to give Colin a love potion. She wouldn't tell, that was for sure, but if she knew who else did? As he began to ponder just how she could have attained such information the effects of the hot, pink potion finally started to kick in and he began to feel sleepy and the pain he felt across his body began to die. It took just ten more minutes until he fell into a sleep as deep as Colin's, to be woken, only a few hours later, by the voice of Lily Evans.

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><p><strong>AN: once again, sorry about the short chapter :( I am trying to write longer ones I promise :) but hey, I think that this is once again the third chapter I have posted in three days so yeah :) I hope your proud of me for that :) as per usual thank you so so so much for all the reviews and adding this story to your favouritesalerts, it honestly means so so much :D I always love to know what you think of the story and where I can improve etc :) on that note, what are you guys thinking of Madame Pomfrey, I know that in Harrys years she isn't quite as friendly, but even then she dosn't tend to ask too many questions about how people got certain injurys etc, turning a blind eye to rule breaking so I thought that I could hopefully get away with making her very friendly and aware of everything thats going on when shes younger :) but what do you guys think? am I stretching the boundries too much? anyway thanks again for just reading my story and, obviously your feedback is always rediculously helpful and (even if it's negative) encouraging, so thank you :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 66/12 . chapter 16

Your welcome for helping you(ish)! Update sooooon!

**_thank you again :) and will do :)_**

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><p>Droupy48 66/12 . chapter 16

Great chapter! I liked that you took the time to describe the transformation, rather than just saying "and then he transformed" or somehting like that. More interesting in my opinion :) Can't wait for the next chapter!

_**thankyou :) yeah, its a pet hate of mine when a marauders story writes about it but dosn't really write about it, doing the whole 'and then he transformed' thing :/ and thanks :)**_

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><p>Dndchk 66/12 . chapter 16

Yay! I finally got caught up with the story!

These are all really good. I was LMAO with the love potion chapter.

I don't think that Remus can feel the transformation before it begins or else he would have gotten out of the way in HP3. Just saying.

Thanks so much for reviewing my story! it was all I could talk about at diner last night. I think my parents are rather sick of fanfiction this and fanfiction that.

Eagerly awaiting the next chapter!

_**haha thanks :) I'm glad you liked the love potion bit :) hmmm, I could try and wiggle my way out of this by saying he was distracted and so used to the wolfsbane potion to not entirly realise what was going on, but I guess that your right and this is going to have to be a plot hole :/ sorry :/ but yeah, your welcome for all the reviews :) I'm glad it made you so happy :) I just felt really bad that loosing your story meant that you lost all the original reviews as although yeah, it isn't really about the number of reviews, its more the idea of people reading and enjoying the story, but it is a nice thing to look at and re-read as some sort of achievement or reward, if you know what I mean :)**_

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><p>Chousi 65/12 . chapter 16

BRILLIANT! :p

Really great way of writting his transformation, his toughts just before are just so right.

I'll sure take some of your sentences from your story and copy it for my english exam in 2 days ahahaha

Your story is first soooo great but its also a great practice for my english ;D

Can't wait for ALL the next chapters ! :p

_**thank you :D and haha :) go for it, its plagiarism and cheating, but hey, your a loyal and dedicated reviewer so I really don't mind :) use as much as you want :) and haha :) thanks :) I will try and write them longer and upload them quickly :)**_

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><p>potterhead1997 65/12 . chapter 16

I love how you described the transformation. I always envisioned it to be very painful and unpleasant.

:)

**_thank you so much and, yeah, same :)_**


	16. An Unexpected Visitor

"Colin."

The words lingered in the hospital wing, echoing slightly.

"Colin, wake up."

Remus stirred as the voice entered into his dreams, pulling him sharply back to reality.

"Colin, can you hear me?"

Remus lay amongst the crisp white sheets, not daring to move, worried of alerting the owner of the voice to his presence. He recognised it, he was sure of that.

"Can you hear me?" The person repeated the sentence slowly and clearly, ignorant of the fact that Colin seemingly couldn't be woken.

"It's Lily, Lily Evans. Colin I've come to speak to you, please wake up." _oh _Remus thought to himself, realisation dawning. _Lily Evans. The_ Lily Evans that James had an unexplained hatred towards, the same Lily Evans that knew about the love potion and quite likely to be a Lily Evans that had come here to try and gather 'evidence' against them, thus getting them into further trouble. Damn it. Remus lay in his bed, desperately thinking of how to distract Lily and get her away from Colin. Yes, Colin had been put under a magically enhanced sleep, but hadn't he also? If he had been woken up merely by Lily's voice calling out, surly Colin would wake soon too, especially if she started prodding and poking him. Remus racked his brain for ideas, but sadly creativity was not his strong suit. He was more logical and practical than say James or Sirius, who had heads filled to the brim with ideas, each more exciting and reckless than the next, that seemed to literally pour out of their mouths in overflow. But Remus could think of nothing.

"Come on Colin, wake up," Lily said again and, to Remus's horror, he heard a noise come from Colin. It was some sort of grunt but, never the less, it indicated that he was waking. Powerless, Remus sat in his bed, concealed behind the hospital curtain as he listened to the scene unfold.

"Hello Colin," Lily said brightly.

"Mrghh," Colin responded, clearly still drowsy from the potion.

"I don't speak troll," Lily said with a small laugh which wasn't reciprocated. Remus grinned as an awkward silence filled the wing.

"Now I don't have long," the young witch continued, trying to remain unperturbed by the unsuccessful start, "It's the last ten minutes of the lunch break, so if you want Potter and Black to go down for what they did, you are going to have to speak quickly." At this Colin seemed to perk up somewhat, indeed he began responding to Lily's questions audibly and in English.

"So," she said, "What exactly did they do?"

"Well they have done a lot to me," he drawled. Remus could almost picture him wiping back his long, blond fringe as he spoke, "For a start they think that they are better than me, something which is clearly not the case- I am quite obviously the superior wizard." This made for another awkward silence in which Colin had hoped that Lily would agree.

"Anyway," Colin said, pressing on with the matter in hand, "On top of that they have constantly undermined me, clearly been making jokes at my expense, covered me in feathers and jam-"

"-but have they given you a love potion?"Lily cut in with a tone of clear frustration.

"Love potion?" Colin asked, "No, I don't remember any love potion."

"Then why did you declare your love for McGonagall in front of the entire transfiguration class?" Lily asked exasperatedly. Colin gave her a look that matched the ones he commonly applied to James and Sirius.

"I declared my love for _Professor _McGonagall because I love her. I couldn't let my undying, burning love for her go another day without her knowing about it." Remus stuffed his hand into his mouth to stop himself laughing. When Madame Pomfrey had said that Colin still liked McGonagall he had never imagined that it would be to the same extreme as before.

"Do you know what I mean Lily?" Colin continued, "It's the way she holds herself, very regal and elegant. It's how her eyes shine it's the-" Remus had to bite down hard on his hand to stop himself laughing, forgetting entirely about the fresh scar that ran along it and the fact that his teeth were still sharp from the previous transformation.

"Arghh!" he screamed out, his jaw clenching around his fist causing a jolt of pain to shoot down his scared hand. Both Colin and Lily stopped talking immediately, leaving a beat of silence before Lily called out, "Are you ok?" Remus cursed his situation, he couldn't answer Lily for fear of giving himself away, thus revealing that he wasn't at his house looking after his sick mum but instead at Hogwarts in hospital with a lot of scars. It would raise far too many questions, but not answering only made her more worried.

"I said are you ok?" she repeated. When the only response was Remus's uncontained whimpers as he tried to stop himself from crying out in pain Lily turned quickly to Colin and asked, "Where is Madame Pomfrey Colin?"

"Oh, I should think that she is at lunch" he responded lightly, causing Remus's stomach to sink lower as he clutched his bleeding hand. "Really Lily you should just leave the person, it's absolutely none of our business."

"Oh, and what if they're dying or in trouble, what if we can help?" she said frustratedly, eyeing the boy with a deep dislike.

"Really, Lily, I think your overreact-"

"-overreacting?" she said quietly, but with an underlining anger that made Colin flinch. Although hitting the pompous and self obsessed boy had run through her mind, Lily chose instead to be more practical in dealing with the situation; she ignored Colin, regained her calm composure and turn to face the curtains that concealed Remus.

"Hello? Are you ok?" Again Remus didn't answer, praying that she would go away.

"Look, I'm going to open the curtains and come in so I can help you, ok?" she made her way forward, reaching her hand out to pull open the hospital white curtains.

"No," Remus called out in a voice as low as he could manage, hoping to disguise his identity. However, unable to conceal the pain, the word ended in a high squeak.

"Look, your clearly not alright, I'm coming in," Lily said defiantly before ripping open the curtains, revealing Remus. She stood still in shock, gaping at Remus for thirty-seconds. Her eyes quickly travelled over all of his visible scars, resting finally on his bleeding hand that he had wrapped tightly in a sheet. Remus, at loss of what else to do quickly put his good finger to his lips as Colin called out,

"So, are they dying?"

"Oh no," Lily called back weakly. Remus couldn't quite make out where Collins bed was, but from the sound of his voice it was quite a bit further down the ward, meaning that he couldn't see him.

"Look, Colin," Lily continued, "I think, seeing as your better now, that you should really get to lunch." Colin made a reluctant grunt.

"McGonagall will be there," Lily added in a falsely positive voice, all the while unable to draw her eyes away from Remus's helpless face.

"Oh, well I guess I should then," Colin said immediately. Both Lily and Remus waited in silence, listening to the boy drag himself out of bed and walk down the hospital wing, not daring to make a sound until they heard the resounding thud of the doors closing behind him.

"What the hell Remus?" Lilly uttered, her eyes swimming in tears as she rushed over to his side, immediately sitting down in the seat that Madame Pomfrey had previously occupied. Remus was about to make up some excuse, but the words caught in his throat and his throbbing hand hurt too much to allow him to think of anything plausable.

"You're meant to be at home, looking after your sick mother." Lily continued a look of mingled confusion, pity and worry etched on her face. "And your hand- is it bleeding?"

"No," Remus lied, yanking his hand away from her. In fairness he hadn't bitten too deeply, his teeth had only reopened a fresh scar and although the bleeding hadn't exactly stopped, it was beginning to clot and the pain was slowly dying down. It was the initial shock that had made Remus cryl out more than anything.

"Remus, I know we haven't really spoken much, and we didn't get on too well when we did, but please tell me what's going on. I want to help," Lily said in a controlled voice, clearly terrified of what had happened. Her green eyes locked into his grey. There was something so sincere in what she said and the way she looked at him, it was as though she honestly and truly meant what she was saying.

"Remus please, I'm worried and I want to help you." Remus racked his brains for ideas; he could hardly tell a girl that he barely knew he was a werewolf.

"I was involved in an accident," he said, not quite looking into her dazzling green eyes.

"Well that's the one thing I already knew" Lily said with a half smile, trying to reassure the young boy.

"It happened on the way back from my Mum's, so they thought it would be best to bring me here as Madame Pomfrey is such a good healer," He continued unconvincingly.

"Yes, but what happened?" Lily asked, studying the long gash running down the side of his face and the black and red streaks etched across his body. Madame Pomfrey had covered them in a special potion to help them heal and fade, but some were two deep and would remain forever. Amongst the bold, fresh marks were lighter pink ones. They mostly travelled across his chest, but one stood just at his hairline, his floppy, light brown fringe only just covering it.

"It was a flying accident," Remus said off the top of his head, "There's a reason first years aren't allowed brooms Lily, I think that I'm living proof." He smiled at her.

"Can a flying accident do that?" She asked, clearly dubious that the long scars could be caused simply from falling off a broom.

"Have you ever fallen off above a wood? Don't get me wrong- the branches probably saved my life by slowing me down, but they sure do hurt." Remus smiled again, impressed at his somewhat plausable excuse, but worried that it would fall through immediately. Lily pursed her lips. She believed Remus, but felt as if something wasn't quite right.

"Why didn't you want me to let Colin know you're here?" she asked in a tone which was more accusatory than she had intended.

Remus gave a small chuckle, "It's Colin. I can't stand him when I'm well so couldn't bear the thought of having to cope with him now I'm ill." He smirked at Lily, a look she quickly returned.

"Well I hope you get better soon," She said with all sincerity, "If you want I can bring you all the notes and take you through what we did in class."

"Thanks Lily, that would be really nice of you." He smiled again at the small witch.

"Well it's not like James, Peter or Sirius is going to do it for you," she laughed before quickly checking her watch, "now I'm really sorry Remus but I have to go, I have a lesson to get to." She gave a small frown at this before giving the werewolf another smile and began making her way out of the hospital wing.

"Oh and Lily," Remus called after her, causing the girl to spin around, her red hair dancing beautifully behind her as she did so, "Don't get James and Sirius into trouble for the love potion."

She gave a small laugh. "Don't worry Remus, I was only teasing. I'm not quite as stuck up and rule abiding as James seems to think; besides I think Colin probably deserved it."

"He did. But don't you want revenge for being pushed into the lake?" Remus asked curiously.

"Oh there are many other ways to get revenge dear Remus," Lily said innocently, but with a twinkle in her green eyes not to dissimilar to the one James sported when he was thinking up a prank. With that she continued making her way out of the hospital wing, leaving Remus pondering what the small witch was going to do.

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><p><strong>AN: Ok so first of all I am so so sorry for any confusion this chapter has caused, I have removed the previous version as it was way way way too soon for Lily to find out (and thank you so much to Dndchk and Chousi for being amazing and honest enough to tell me right away, that was so so helpful so yeah, thank you) I'm still not really happy with this chapter, so please tell me what you honestly think, I'm still completly up for changing it (although I don't plan on actually taking it down like before, just updating it) if I do update this chapter (or any other chapters) I will put a little note about it in the authors note of the newest chapter to let you all know and possibly in that chapters authors note aswell :)<strong>** anyway thanks for reading and I would love it if you could give me a review, even just a short one :) thank you to all those who do/have reviewed, added it to their favourites/alerts :) its got to the point now where I have actually got a little choreographed dance 'routine' (2 moves) that I preform every time this happens :) you should see me :) I do look very, very funny :) haha :) anyway thank you again for taking the time to read this, that alone makes me ridiculously happy :) I will try and update soon :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Maisie 68/12 . chapter 17

Wow I really like how you've done everything, I'm a bit of a Marauders Fan at the moment and this i really like! :) Please write more! xxx

_**thank you so so much :) and yeah, me too (about being a marauders fan) :) I absolutly love the whole era, I really wish the godess that is JK Rowling would write another series of books about them :) I know she won't but hey, a girl can dream :) haaha :) anyway thank you so much for reviewing and I will write more :) I promise :)**_

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><p>Dndchk 67/12 . chapter 17

Um would you like me to Beta this? I would be honored to!

_**This is going to sound so stupid of me but I'm not exactly sure how having a Beta works :S I get the basics, I'm just not exactly sure what it completly entails ?**_

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><p>Blue Luver5000 67/12 . chapter 17

Sorry about saying update sooooon! So much I just put that ate the end of every review I do unless I know that they are oneshots! Update sooooon!

_**Hahaaha :) no its fine, its kinda cool :) and its enough that you can be bothered to take the time to review, its really really nice and encouraging :)**_

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><p>GryffindorGirl11 67/12 . chapter 8

I loved the plan! I hate Colin.

**_ahhaha :) thanks and yeah, don't we all :/ I mean, even Lily dosn't like him :)_**

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><p>GryffindorGirl11 67/12 . chapter 7

I realm like the professor and I really like the chapter! It was a little bit confusimg in the beginning bit it cleared up in the end.

_**thanks :) and yeah, its one of the chapters which I really need to go back and re-do :/ its on my to do list :)**_

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><p>Chousi 67/12 . chapter 18

tks for uploadind so soon :D

I think it's a too soon for Lily. i've always picturing the guys knowing before her but its an very interresting point of view who is, in fact, very realistic i think. Lily, in my mind, have more things in commun with Remus than any Marauders, and their little secret will be intersting :)

How they'll keep it ? How Snape would be conscient of that, maybe already suspicious? How the guys will react when they'll see how close Lily and Remus will be (well i suppose that xD)

Lots of things really interesting to write about :)

But yeah, i think its too soon. The first transformation in the first year ? The second year would be more realistic I think.

BUT x) surprising me with stuff i never would imagine like that is what make a story so special. :)

And yours is :p

Can't wait for the next chapter ! :D

PS : "I have actually got a little choreographed dance 'routine' (2 moves) that I preform every time this happens :) you should see me :) I do look very, very funny :) "

You know when people put "lol" but actually don't even smile ?

Well, i really laugh xD

_**Thankyou so much for telling me (in a very nice way) that the chapter/plot idea didn't work :) you were 100% right so thank you so so much :) and ahha :) thanks, I put it back in the new authors note just for you :) as always thank you so so much for leaving such a long and help review, your reviews often honestly make my day :)**_

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><p>Dndchk 67/12 . chapter 18

Very good, but I'm actually a bit disappointed... Remus barely knows Lily and I know I sure as hell wouldn't just tell anyone- probably not even my best friends. But it was still very good!

Oh, and may I suggest you tone down the swearing until around third year? They're only eleven.

Please tell me there won't be any gay Remus/Sirius crap :(

Very good chapter nonetheless and update soon!

_**you are completly and utterly right, as you can see by the edited chapter so thank you so so much for telling me :) on the swearing front, urrmm. Since your review this is something I have thought a lot about. When I was eleven I definatly swore, not in front of parents or teachers, but in front of my friends or in my head etc however I can see ish where your coming from. In the first year I think that James and Sirius would swear definitly, Peter probably to try and fit it, but Remus and Lily not so much, however I think they would occasionally so yeah, I think if its alright I will keep occasional swearing in, but I will try and make sure (in Remus and Lilys case especially) that it is in context and not, in anyway, out of character. And on the slash front no, there wont be any Remus/Sirius slash :**__**( I have decided to try and stick completly to canon so I don't think I could plausably make it work (for those who do like it I might write a seperate story based on a Remus/Sirius relationship) however I havn't in anyway ruled out having OC same sex relationships :) as always thank you so so much for your review :D and for telling me how horrendusly wrong I was going with the plot :) I will try and update soon :) **_

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><p>GryffindorGirl11 67/12 . chapter 6

I think I like where the DADA professor is going.

**_haha :) thanks :) also thanks for reviewing so many chapters, its really nice to hear your thoughts as you read through it :)_**

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><p>GryffindorGirl11 67/12 . chapter 3

I really like the way you did the sorting!

_**thankyou so much :)**_

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><p>GryffindorGirl11 67/12 . chapter 2

Love it!

_**thank you ! :D **_

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><p>Chousi 67/12 . chapter 17

Thank you for giving me your consent :p

I think its an interresting bond between Mme Pomfrey and Remus. It doesn't bother me that she's more friendly, it seems very natural. And i agree with your logical : i think she was like that when she was youger and she became more "professional" after.

We can see with Harry's generation that she's still a kind person.

Don't worry about your short chapters, they are well written and you update very often so who's gonna complain seriously ? :)

Another great chapter.

I don't know for which chapter i said that and if you remember, but thats my second "i really love your chapter without really knowing why" aha.

Thank you for this great job ! :)

_**ahhah :) your welcome :) and good, I was worried I was going to get a negative responce :) and yeah, but I don't really do much in short chapters, its more like a little snapshot into their lives than an actual story :/ I've made it a new aim to try and write longer chapters :) and thank you so so so much :D **_

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><p>GryffindorGirl11 67/12 . chapter 1

Great! Will keep reading on.

_**thank you so much :)**_

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><p>Droupy48 66/12 . chapter 17

nice chapter :) I think you got Pomfrey just right and I can't wait to find out what Lily's doing there. I have a guess, so I'll have to see if I'm right :)

**_thanks :) and how close were you? I'm guessing that you were wright as apart from being treated for an injury possibly the result of one of James and Sirius's pranks, I can't think of any other reasons :) ahha :) _**

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><p>potterhead1997 66/12 . chapter 17

I like how Madame Pomfrey is nicer and somewhat less worrisome now. I think that the war with Voldemort would have hardened her a bit, same with Mcgonagall I always envisioned her as being a little more gentle when she was younger (yet still as strict). It is mentioned in the books that everyone was quite fond of Lily Evans and the Marauders. I imagine that as their head of house she would have especially liked them so their deaths/murders/betrayals probably would have had a big affect on Minerva and most likely the rest of the staff.

_**I completly agree with you. without giving away any of the future plot currently floating around my head, I think that this is especially true with Madame Pomfrey :) but yes, I think that the war would have affected everybody in many different ways :/**_

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><p>lucy 66/12 . chapter 17

yeah its short, but its very well written. quality not quantity as they always say :) however, that said, I would love a real long, juicy chapter :) pretty please? :)

_**thanks :) and tada :) heres that long (kinda) juicey (actually no, to be fair its really not juicey sorry) chapter you were after :) If I'm honest once I get really into the story I would quite like to write really long chapters, possibly around 5-10 thousand words each. I know thats unrealistic but it's one of my aims. It's like someone said in a previous comment a while ago, in my short chapters as soon as you get into it it ends, thus lossing a lot of dramatic potential and stuff so yeah :) longer chapters are the plan (although I don't think that it is one I will necessarily stick to) :)**_


	17. Magical Muggle Pranks

A month after arriving at Hogwarts and the first years already felt like they had lived there their whole lives. The love potion James and Sirius had given Colin had long worn off, Lily had more or less forgotten about her encounter with Remus in the hospital wing (although the two remained on good terms) and the first years had even grown accustomed to the maze of school corridors. During the first few days the long corridors that weaved in many different directions had, once aided by unhelpful portraits, tricked them into taking wrong turns and ending up horrendously late to lessons. This apparently happened to James and Sirius more than most, infuriating teachers and students alike as the two boys would saunter into class fifteen minutes late with a genuine excuse. The Gryffindor girls, who were in every lesson that the boys attended, wanted nothing more than to hex them then and there every time they disrupted a lesson. Indeed, after Sirius and James had capsized Lily's boat they had been desperately plotting of a way to humiliate them, and while the boys busied themselves with a prank of a much larger scale, the girls tried to think of something more low key.

Lily sat in her dorm, snuggled up under the duvets as they called out random ideas. The most bizarre came from Martie, a confident and immensely likeable witch who had taken the nearest bed to Lily. Her suggestions were often met with laughter and ranged from filling the boy's shoes with frogs spawn to casting a various array of enchantments to literally turn their dormitory upside down. The more practical ideas came from Mary, a quite, mousey girl who wanted to draw on the magical skills that they had already learnt. The obvious problem to this was that they hadn't really learnt any actual skills. Out of the five of them it was Lily who had come closest to transforming a matchstick into a needle, leaving only the distinct colour of the red tipped end (to further her annoyance the only two who had completed the simple alteration were Black and Potter). But even if they had been able to do this it would have been no use, what was the point in turning a matchstick into a needle? More to the point where would they even get the matchsticks? The majority of the wizarding world used magic to light fires, and even if she could get her muggle parents to send some in Sirius and James would be immediately curious and suspicious of the muggle invention. Lily had been intensely bored during the second transfiguration lesson when the boys had been introduced with their matches- she didn't want a repeat of their hysteria.

"How about using the spell on something else?" Suggested Amelie in an accent that hinted towards her French heritage. "Like the quills. It would be funny to watch them working away on a piece of work to suddenly change the quill into a needle. There look of shock would be perfect, and if we kept doing it they would never get their work done."

"The only problem with that," remarked Martie, who lazily spread herself over the blue covers of the four poster bed, "is that Sirius Black and James Potter never do any work." This was naturally met with a roomful of giggles and a couple of disgruntled frowns. The two boys had already managed to find themselves at the top of the class despite not doing any real work, and it was the dearest ambition of every other student to find out exactly how they did this.

"How about…" continued Martie, a phrase which was already almost traditionally met with

"Here we go again!" and further laughter.

"How about we give up on the magical side of things." Her suggestion was met with a tense silence that she quickly broken with, "Don't raise your eyebrows at me Miss Marlene McKinnon!" in a voice that distinctly resembled McGonagall's.

"All I mean is that how about we look at some… alternatives." Sure enough now every girl in the room had her eyebrows raised, whether it was out of curiosity or to add effect to a dubious look Martie couldn't quite tell, so she pressed onwards.

"Well I'm from a muggle background, so I'm obviously quite familiar with muggle pranks. I know there fairly simple, but they are funny, and as James and Sirius are purebloods they wouldn't be able to second guess them."

"Ok, so things like putting hair dye in their shampoo, sticking notes on their back, shaving off their eyebrows when they sleep?" Lily mused, not entirely convinced on the idea.

"Ok, I get what you're saying" Marlene said, brushing her thick, dark hair over her shoulder with a slight frown, "but how about we combine all the ideas and pull off magical muggle pranks? For instance I can get my brother to send some of Handi's semi permanent glue over by owl" noticing Lily and Martie's confused expressions she added, "It's stuff which you use to stick things together and you can't remove it unless the wand of the person who opened the bottle touches it. It's very clever stuff"

"Brilliant," Martie said. Her large, brown eyes lit up, clearly signifying to the room that inspiration had struck.

"So we would be able to stick a sign on the back of them and they wouldn't be able to remove it?" Lily asked with a grin.

"Oh it is more than that my dear Lily," Martie said whilst reaching over for a quill and parchment, hastily scribbling some notes down, "Marlene, tell your brother to get us that glue pronto, we are going to need a hell of a lot of it. Also, Allie, do you still have your magical sleep inducing incense stick things?"

"Yes, why?"

"Well I do believe that we have a plan."

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><p><strong>AN: so.. first bit of Lily p.o.v. how was it? I know that this story is about the marauders, so I hope your not to mad at me for switching the pov from them to Lily, but I think she is so important to the story that some things need to be seen through her eyes. Equally I really want to flesh out the OC (I have actually been really organised about this, I have made a name list for every student in their year, including pictures and a few bullet points) That is one thing I'm already aware that I havn't done too well in this chapter; flesh out and start actually describing the OC's because of this I am half considering adding in a chapter (which would become the new chapter 2) of the train journey through Lilys eyes. I'm not sure that this would work with the 'flow' of the story but as they would all be meeting each other for the first time it would give me a chance to introduce them to you, the reader, properly without having to try and constantly hint towards their personality and physical features throughout the chapters. so yeah, I would love to know your thoughts on that :) As always please review if you have any questions, constructive criticsm or general feedback :) Thank you so much for those who dohave (also thank you so so much to Chousi and Dndchk who were unable to review this chapter having reviewed the original so inboxed me a new review, that was absolutly incredible and beyond lovely) :) it makes me happy :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>judichi 69/12 . chapter 18

I guess I'm the only one who liked it better before, I understand that it was too early but I quite like the idea of Lily find out fairly early (around end of 1st to begining of 2nd year) as you are right (in what you said in the original authors note) Remus and Lily do have a sort of understanding of each other, and in most fanfics get along quite well even in the early years. Anyway great chapter and update soon please :)

_**yeah, I'm kinda ish thinking along the same lines and am toying with the idea of Lily finding out sooner, fowever I don't want to then have to write a chapter about Sirius/James getting all pissy because Lily knew first or anything like that.. yeah :S and thank you :) I will try, although the next one might take a little longer as I'm restarting school on monday :'( and I'm not quite sure what to do next (i.e. go back and do train or continue with plotline) any help in which direction to take would be much appreciated :)**_

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><p>Lily Whits 69/12 . chapter 18

Hey!

I really like your story but I don't have an account (no eamil and my parents won't let me get one) so I can't add it to my favourites or alerts or anything like that. I know someone previously asked when you post and you said you didn't have a specific day, well I was wondering if there was a certain time that you post, so I could try and catch it every update :)

thanks,

Lily Whits xxx

_**I'm really sorry but I tend to update completly randomly, basically whenever I finish a chapter. I really should get into a regular routine and might, once school becomes incredibly demanding, set one out. But yeah.. at this moment in time I don't have one. All I can say is that is you search my author name (millie-mae) in the searchy thing (on the author setting) and my profie should come up and from there you can find the story :) really you should be able to search the title of the story to find it, but the title is so generic (I honestly should change it- any suggestions would be welcomed) it won't work :) sorry thats all I can think of to help :/**_

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><p>Colin 69/12 . chapter 18

I loved your story and got so excited to see a character with my name... yeah, he didn't turn out too good :( well anyway I love your story, please write more :)

**Aww I'm sorry :( It's nothing against Colins in general :) and thank you :)**

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><p>lucy 69/12 . chapter 18

brilliant :) so so much better than the last one :) well done for listning to critisism, taking it constructivly and acting on it making your amazing story all the more brilliant :)

_**ahh thankyou :D**_

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><p>Blue Luver5000 68/12 . chapter 18

Please update soooooon! I am thankful that you think of it that way some think it is annoying! Update soooon!

_**haha :) don't worry about it :) and I will try my best :)**_

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><p>Droupy48 68/12 . chapter 18

great chapter! I forgot what my guess was, so I'll just say it was right lol Can't wait for the next chapter!

_**haha :) fair enough :) and thank you :)**_


	18. Phase 1

A mere week after their original plotting session passed and the girls had everything they needed. Siblings and extended family had responded quickly to their letters, owling all the essential items they needed over immediately, meaning that when James spent the whole of history of magic levitating their quills just out of reach, making it impossible to take notes, they were poised and ready for revenge.

They had planned to start in the common room at midnight, but a sixth year couple had been making out so vigorously that they were too embarrassed to disturb them and waited instead till they went elsewhere.

"Ok," Martie said in a hushed whisper when they had finally all gathered around a few hours later, "Does everyone have everything?"

The girls nodded and ushered a murmur of 'yes's'. Martie smiled in satisfaction.

"Good, now Allie do you want to go do your thing?" The blond smiled and nodded, her curls swaying slightly as she did so. It was Allie's job to light the incense sticks. The girl suffered from insomnia, so as a leaving present her mother had enchanted her usual incense so that it knocked her into a deep sleep every night in five minutes flat. She quickly got up, leaving the group and made her way to the boy's dormitory (Marlene and Martie had bribed a third year boy earlier that day with chocolate frog cards into telling them exactly where it was). Upon entering the dully lit room she was greeted by a dull snore coming from Sirius and a slight stench wafting off the dirty clothes haplessly strewn across the floor. Careful not to disturb the boys she shut the door gently behind her and began placing the first of the long, purple incense on the floor. Using an incantation her mother had taught her she lit it and a long wisp of purple smoke immediately appeared at the tip of the incense, which proceeded to trail round the room as the smell of lavender filled the air. Careful not to breathe too much in she checked the small gold pocket watch that hung around her neck. She had five minutes. As the second hand slowly ticked its way around the face of the clock she leapt into action, placing and lighting the incense sticks at the end of each boy's bed, finding her eyes droopier by the second, forcing herself to keep the heavy lids open. She lit the final stick in the middle of the room before quickly running out, covering her mouth as she did so. She ran back down to the waiting girls, coughing and spluttering. When she re-entered the common room every girls face quickly turned to hers, eyes bright with excitement.

"Did you do it?" Lily asked, a wicked smile playing on her lips.

"Of course" Allie said smiling.

"So are we ready now?" Marlene asked from the long sofa she had been reclining in, her messy black hair draped over the edge.

"Well I would give it ten minutes to clear," Allie said, still feeling slightly light headed, "But then yes, I would say that we are good to go."

"Brilliant" Martie beamed, already picturing the boy's faces in the morning. "That's absolutely brilliant."

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><p><strong>AN: I've reached chapter 20! I'm actually a little bit proud of myself for not giving up with the story (don't worry, I have absolutly no intention to- although now schools starting again I won't be able to update as often, sorry) I'm so sorry that this, along with most of my chapters it seems, was so short. I had intended to write out everything they did, but I thought that it would be funnier to skip to the boys reactions (which will be the next chapter) :) as always thank you so so much for reviewingsubscribing/favouriting, it is all absolutly amazing :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Dndchk 610/12 . chapter 19

Very good, as always. I can't wait to see what Lily and the girls do for their prank. I liked the idea of having some stuff from Lily's POV- I'll have to do that sometime! Suggestion for what they put on one of the guy's backs- I KISS GOATS 9you can tell I only just woke up, can't you? XD)

_**thank you :) and sorry to keep you waiting a little while longer :) I must admit that I am so glad that writting from Lily's POV had a positive reaction, I was worried for a bit that I had made another mistake :) And haha :) they are good suggestions, in truth I havn't actually decided what to write on there backs, but I will keep it in mind (and, obviously, credit you for the idea if I use it) :)**_

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><p>Chousi 610/12 . chapter 19

Great chapter !

I love how i feel it will become girls vs boys kind of war xD

I think its really realisctic: i mean, when we were 10,11 the boys were the ennemis :D

And i feel that in this chapter.

I love the Lily's pov. For me a marauders story is about 5 characters : the actual marauders Lily :)

So I really think its a VERY intersting pov ! :D

Indeed, if you'll keep goin with Lily's pov, you'll Have to describe her relation with Snape which is the most brilliant thing JKR invented I think :p And i'm really interested about how you'll describe it.

Thks for uploading so quickly ! I should study right now but what the hell it s a break :D

_**thankyou ! :D and yeah, I know exactly what you mean :) around 10 and 11 boys were the enemy and if you spoke/were friends with a boy you were weird :) And thanks again :) yeah, I agree a marauders story isn't complete without Lily :) I was just a bit worrid that people wouldn't like me giving her to much focus or for her story to detract from theirs :) and the lily/snape story line :O I'd almost forgotten I had to inclue that :/ If I'm perfectly honest I havn't read any fanfics on that so I'm not entirely sure how to write it (If anyone would like to recomend any I would be very grateful) , its just JK Rowling wrote it so perfectly in DH that i've never tried to find more :/ and your welcome :) my updates will slow down a bit when school starts up again, but I'm hoping to try and do at least two or three a week :) and yeah, you are fully entitled to a break so don't worry :D also everything is so much more exciting and interesting when your meant to be doing something else :)**_

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><p>Potterhead1997 69/12 . chapter 19

They are going to glue them to their beds :)

_**oh its going to be a little more than that :) mwa ha ha ha :D**_

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><p>Droupy48 69/12 . chapter 19

very well written! can't wait to find out what they're going to do :)

_**thank you so much :) and I'm sorry for making you wait a little while longer :/ I will try and make it worth it :)**_

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><p>Blue Luver5000 69/12 . chapter 19

I think lily should make jakes a ginger and the sign on his back say im a ginger and proud! Update soooon!

_**haha :) brilliant idea :D haha :) I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but if I use your idea I will fully credit you for it :)**_

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><p>ukie-girl 69/12 . chapter 19

hmmm, I knew that Sirius and James always pulled pranks on everyone. I never thought about Lily doing that... I like it :) Can't wait to see what you come up with! :)

Keep on writing whenever you have the chance! You are doing a great job :D

ukie-girl

_**aww thankyou :) yeah, I could just never see Lily or her friends taking it lying down :) and thank you so much :) **_


	19. Pink Hair, Facial Hair and Witches Robes

As soon as the five girls finished altering the boy's dormitory they hurried back down to the common room to find the Gryffindor boys lying on the floor in exactly the same positions as they had left them last night. It had been hard work, moving each boy out of his bed and dormitory, taking three girls to carry each boy- four in peters case. But, as they stood admiring their work, it was obvious that they all thought it was worth it. They seated themselves on the comfy sofa's, quickly double checking that they all knew what to say and do as they waited for the boys to wake up. It took ten minutes before James slowly flickered open his heavy eyelids. He could only make out hazy figures and odd furniture as he blinked repeatedly, reaching out for his glasses which the girls had kindly made sure were by his side. When he finally put them on everything came into focus and he cried out in shock, finding himself sitting in the middle of the Gryffindor common room, surrounded by the group of giggling girls.

"What is it mate?" Sirius mumbled from beside him, still half a sleep,"found another spider?" At this the girls laughed louder and James flushed red in embarrassment.

"Is ickle Jamesykins scared of spiders?" Marlene giggled cruelly as James gave her a sleepy, but hateful, look.

"Why are we down here?" James asked suspiciously, immediately not trusting the sly grins imprinted on each girls face.

"We wanted everyone to see you and the rest of the boys," Marlene explained, an evil smile playing on her thin lips.

"See what?" James asked irritably, turning his head round to look at his friends and Colin for help, his mouth dropping as he did so. Each one of them was sporting bright pink hair, had moustaches drawn on their faces and were dressed from head to toe in female wizarding robes.

"Oh," James said in amazement, feeling his face yet again enter into a hot flush of embarrassment as he looked down at his own attire, realising that he too had been subjected to this make over. He turned back around to his friends, not sure whether or not to laugh at their predicament. Sirius and Peter were still more or less asleep, ignorant of their new look, but Colin and Remus were both beginning to stir. After fully waking up both did a double take, looking in confusion at each other. Lily felt her stomach do a guilty flip as Remus gave her a hurt look.

"What's the time?" Remus said immediately, trying to pull his head out of its weary state, "When are other students going to start coming down?"

"Soon hopefully," Martie said checking her own watch with a look of glee.

"Really, you're no worse than these buffoons!" Colin declared, pointing his finger aggressively towards the girls. At this Sirius snapped opened his eyes.

"And what 'buffoons' would those be?" he asked, rubbing his eyes to get a better look at everybody, "Oh, I say Colin, pink really is your colour."

The disgruntled boy scowled. "You're all so truly awful, you're all absolutely horrid." Colin said, flipping his now pink fringe out of his eyes.

"Now now, temper temper." Martie said grinning, before asking innocently, "Oh, Marlene?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have that camera?"

"Why yes," The dark haired witch replied with a smug grin, quickly taking it out from behind her back. "I thought Tom particularly would like to see this" she said, speaking directly to James, "I mean, you practically worship the ground my brother walks on." Marlene was about to begin taking photos of the boys, her finger hovering tantalisingly over the cameras button, before it was knocked clean from her hands by James who had jumped at her, pinning her to the floor.

"He is not seeing this!" He grunted as he continued to wrestle the girl, something that was all the more harder now that he was wearing a dress.

"Cousin! Your making a scene," she squawked as a few older students began to enter the common room, looking over at the first years with various of expressions, most containing either confusion or delight.

"Cousin?" Peter muttered to himself, as though trying to figure out something immensely complicated. The rounded first year had finally woken from the commotion, although by the way he was looking at Marlene and the pink haired James he seemed to doubt this highly, opening and closing his eyes repeatedly as though trying to work out whether or not he was still asleep.

"You're making a scene James, stop it," Marlene repeated.

"I'm making a scene!" James responded indignantly as the girl now tackled him down onto the floor, gaining the upper hand of the fight, "You, cousin, are one who died my hair bright pink, drew a moustache on my face and put me in a fucking dress!"

"Oh please, I have done so much worse- as have you for that matter! Now stop it!" She said, digging her hands into his sides, beginning to tickle him.

"AHH! Ok, Marlene, AHH! Stop it, I AHH! I surrender," he said in between screams of laughter. The girl stood up triumphantly, before looking over awkwardly at her friends, realising that she had just been involved in a childish play fight in front of all of them.

"So you're related to _that_," Amelie said conclusively, indicating towards James who was now breathing heavily.

"Well that was always obvious to anyone with half a brain cell," Sirius said flippantly, "I'm sure that if you trace my family tree back far enough that I'm also similarly related to James, all purebloods are."

"I meant closely, as in you knew each other before Hogwarts," Amelie explained, her hint of a French accent growing stronger as anger flooded into her words.

"Well yeah, it wasn't exactly a secret," Marlene said, "I mean; our families are close so I spend enough time with him as it is."

"Thanks," James said sarcastically.

"You know what I mean," she said, sending him a look, "It's just we had to spend the whole summer holidays together and got ready for Hogwarts together so it was nice to just have the freedom of not doing something together."

"No wonder," Amelie said with a look of disgust, "I would hate to even be associated to _that."_

"Alright Amelie, his my cousin and whilst I have the right to voice my hatred of him, you do not," Marlene said warningly.

"Ladies," Sirius interrupted, stopping the potential argument, "I would love to chat, but as I am currently in a dress with a moustache drawn on my face and my hair is some awful shade of pink I would really quite like to get back to dormitory and avoid praying eyes." Sirius gestured around the quickly filling common room. Luckily James had woken up early enough that even now there were very few students milling around watching them, but he was worried that this number would soon greatly increase.

"Why? It's not like you can change your hair, we used a charm that you've probably never even heard of," Martie said confidently.

"Oh please," James said dismissively, "It's the same wash-in, wash-out stuff that Marlene used last Halloween, it will come out in an instant."

"Marlene! You could have told us he would recognise it," Martie said angrily. James grinned at this, completely missing the glint of satisfaction that passed through every girl's eyes. He looked instead towards Sirius, Remus and Peter, indicating his head towards the stairs that led to the boy's dormitory.

"I think we better get going if we want to be ready before breakfast," he said quietly. The other boys nodded and began to follow him.

"Oh and girls," he called back in a haughty voice, "Good try and all, nice touch with the dresses, but really- it's all a bit amateur don't you think? Embarrassing originally, yes, but easily rectifiable and not, in the grand scheme of things, all that impressive."

The girls didn't seem to mind his criticism all that much and continued to smile at the pink haired boy.

"Is that an invitation to try harder next time Potter?" Lily said, speaking for the first time that mourning. She had hung back with Mary and Allie, observing the events, not wanting them to get too out of hand. She had been completely supportive of pranking Potter and Black, she even thought Colin was fair game after their brief encounter in the hospital wing, but Peter and Remus seemed too innocent. She had no idea how directly involved they were with all of Sirius and James's plans, thinking that they were simply being pulled into it all unwillingly. However even she couldn't help but grin as the boys finally left and James called out,

"Oh now Evans, be fair, let us have a go first."

The girls all broke out into laughter when the door finally shut behind them, Martie actually fell over onto the floor, clutching her stomach in slight pain from laughing too much.

"Oh they looked so, so funny," She said finally, pulling herself up from the couch.

"That was very good for a first year prank, shame the hair dye wasn't permanent," an older student called out from across the common room as their friends murmured in agreement.

"Oh trust me, that's just the start of it," Marlene replied, a wicked smile playing on her lips. The older students raised their eyebrows, obviously hoping Marlene would tell them more.

"Just keep your eyes peeled for them at breakfast," She said grinning. They nodded appreciatively and left, leaving Marlene to turn back to her friends.

"I cannot believe that James fell for that, thank god he recognised the hair dye, I was worried for a moment that he wouldn't."

"I can't believe any of them did," Lily said, "I mean Remus is clever and logical, you'd have thought he'd figure out what we were doing."

"Oh, Remus is 'clever and logical' is he?" Marlene teased, giving Lily a knowing smile.

"Huh?" She responded, missing what Marlene was implying completely. The girls all giggled.

"Well you seem to have taken a bit of a shine to Mr Lupin," she said as Lily went bright red.

"I don't fancy him if that's what you're saying," Lily said indignantly, continuing to blush heavily.

"If you say so," Marlene said, obviously not believing a word coming out of Lily's mouth.

"I don't!"

"Um Marlene, Lily, no offence but please could we get back to the prank in hand?" Amelie interjected, "I don't want to have wasted all my mother's beauty products to miss the final result."

"Sorry," they both mumbled in apology, sitting down, cameras at the ready, waiting for the Gryffindor boys to fall foul of what they had really planned.

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><p><strong>AN: I'm really worrid that this chapter dosn't make sence so please give me your honest thoughts and opinions :) I'm sorry for not updating for so long, needless to say school has been tough and I have already been overloaded with work so yeah, this was written late last night when I was very very tired :( hence why it possibly dosn't make sence- also is the whole Marlene and James are cousins thing too thrown in at the last minute? I had actually 'planned' it from the start, just neglected to mention it : is this something that I need to edit an earlier chapter for? sorry for all the questions I'm just not entirely satisfied with this chapter and would like to know quickly if I need to edit it :) Anyway thank you so so much to all those who reviewed the last chapter and, as I havn't done this in a while I would like to remind you all that I am not JK Rowling so yeah, sadly don't own Harry Potter :( thanks for reading :)**

**~millie-mae**

**(oh- also sorry for still not revealing the entirety of the prank yet, however I now know what it is and can promised all will be revealed next chapter) :)**

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><p>Readallthefanfics 612/12 . chapter 20

Try always by xitsrealforusx

_**thanks so much :) I will read it as soon as I get a chance :)**_

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><p>Chousi 611/12 . chapter 20

As always, great chapter ! :)

For the Snape/Lily friendship i can't recomanded anyone, actually i've never read a fanfic (well i don't remember ) about these two.

But it could be an advantage. You won't be influenced by others stories and you can take time to think about what you imagine about them.

Even if you only know the details the books gave us,and not the eventual secrets JKR told in interviews (i really don't know if she did) I think the books said the most important thing

For me its something really important in Lily's story.

But hey, i (and you!) don't forget : this is YOUR story ! :)

Don't worry about your uploading schedule, you are really doing a great job, sincerely, so take as much time that you need to keep going like that :)

_**thank you :) I guess, I just kinda wanted to see how it would all happen and fit into place and stuff- don't get me wrong, I hate copying other peoples ideas completly but just to see how it works in other stories I think would help :) But your right, if its important to Lily it's important to the story so yeah, I will definatly include it :) and thank you so much :) **_

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><p>Blue Luver5000 610/12 . chapter 20

my phone got taken away i have to use my kindle now for fanfic! update soooooooooooon!

_**aww poor you :( why? and will do :)**_

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><p>ilessthan3hp 610/12 . chapter 20

Wow, interesting chapter! I hope you do update quite soon. I can't wait to find out what the real prank and the Marauder's reactions are! :)

_**thank you so much, and I'm so sorry to keep you waiting a little bit longer :S**_

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><p>Droupy48 610/12 . chapter 20

very suspenseful! and no worries, the waiting is half the fun!

**_haha :) I hope your still saying that after this chapter :)_**

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><p>Dndchk 610/12 . chapter 20

Verry good, a little short :( and I was hoping for the full prank :( but I still liked it! Hehe. Um don't the dorms have signs for what year they're for? Just wondering. Lived the bit about levitating the quills. Mind if I use that?

_**I know :S this one is a little longer which is hopefully better :) and I am sorry as I know that this still isn't the full prank, only half of it or kinda a warm up to it :) and yeah signs on doors- to be honest I hadn't really thought about it, what I meant by they bribed the third year to tell them where it was as in exactly where it was so they wouldn't be running around trying to find it (even if it was identifiable by a sign) as that would waste time :) and yeah, i guess thats alright as long as you credit me for the idea and everything :) **_


	20. Shampoo and Soap

James and Sirius were laughing as they climbed their way back up the stairs to their dorm. The laughter was mainly aimed well naturedly at each other, but also slightly at the girls for trying to prank them.

"No offence to them," James said, "as they obviously tried very hard, but that idea of dyeing someone's hair is so _so_ overdone."

Sirius nodded. "Completely agree with you mate, I'm pretty sure most of my older cousins have done it at some point or another- oh and speaking of cousins, you're related to the lovely Marlene and you didn't even bother to mention it."

"I'm probably related to at least quarter of the people in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw in some way or another, besides; she's not all that lovely I can assure you," James replied with a smirk before telling Sirius many tales about her misdeeds. Remus however hung back with Peter and, unfortunately, Colin. He was still dubious as to what the girls had planned and didn't trust the way that Lily had been looking at him, as though battling with herself whether or not to tell him a secret. There had been a warning in her eyes, he was sure of that. Or was he just over thinking it? After all, he barely knew the girl and doubted that she was the type that could be read like a book and wore her heart on her sleeve. Despite this, he felt sure that the girls were still up to something. His ponderings however were interrupted, and in some ways answered, by the string of fantastic swear words that James and Sirius uttered as they entered the dormitory. They were so shocked that they froze in the doorway and Remus had to push pass them to see what was the matter. When his eyes rested on the dormitory he too stood still, shocked and lost for words.

The dormitory was upside-down.

"It's literally upside-down," Sirius stated in amazement, shooting James a look of disbelief. Everything- the bed, the rugs, the mess that had lain carelessly strewn across the floor, all of it was now securely in place above them, somehow stuck to the ceiling.

"Guys!" James said suddenly, interrupting the brief silence that had occurred as the boys gazed upwards, "You do realise that our wardrobes are up there." Peter looked at him, confused at why this was so important.

"Our wardrobe- as in the place where we can find things to get changed into that aren't dresses," He said panicking, immediately looking to Remus for help.

"Alright James, calm down," Remus said slowly, trying to think of the logical next step, "Look, I will try and find some way of getting it down or getting into it while you all take a shower to get rid of the pink hair and moustaches."

"No, Remus you need to have a shower now as well otherwise you won't have time to get rid of your pink hair- and I am not going around school with someone who looks like that," he said, only half joking.

"But there are only three showers," Colin said pointedly, a slight smirk appearing on his face as always happened when he managed to prove someone or something wrong.

"Well they are quite large, I'm sure we can fit two people under one shower- no need to look like that Colin! We can keep our pants on and stuff, it won't be pervy, we just need to be quick to get to breakfast on time." James had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing at Colin's face which was pale and frozen in horror, his mouth hanging open. What James didn't see was that Remus's reaction practically mirrored Colin's. Remus thought immediately of the scars that decorated his body. It had been over a month since his supposed 'flying crash' and technically the scars should have gone as the ointment Madame Pomfrey applied worked completely in a week on the smaller scars, however he had suffered through another full moon in the time that had passed and also obtained deep gashes from previous transformations that were far too gruesome to be revealed to even the closest of his friends. Besides, they would raise too many unwanted questions.

"No, its fine James," Remus said hurriedly, "If you, Colin and Sirius shower now while me and Peter try and get our uniforms down and then call us when you're finished we will quickly wash and should have time for breakfast."

"You sure you don't want to go first?" James asked as Colin and Sirius made their way to the on-suite."

"No, its fine, besides I don't eat that much, I'm fine showering while you all eat breakfast," Remus said. James, however, shook his head, making a firm promise to wait for his friend once he had had his shower.

As Remus and Peter tried to find some way to reach the wardrobe Colin, James and Sirius took their shower, glad that the girls didn't appear to have messed with the en-suite, leaving towels and shampoo in their normal places. James especially was glad to see that there was even a fresh bar of soap in the shower, something he was sure hadn't been there before. He used this first, washing his face with it to remove the drawn on moustache. As the only mirror in the bathroom couldn't be viewed from the showers he couldn't be certain that this had happened, so just scrubbed continuously until he was fairly sure it had disappeared. He then moved onto his hair, lathering in the shampoo extra thick to make sure that he got rid of all the pink. It smelt different to usual. James liked the new smell, although it was a little girly for his taste. As he continued rubbing in the shampoo, applying more and more just to be certain no pink tint would be left, he had a peculiar feeling. His hair felt as though it was getting thicker, curler and longer. He thought he could even feel strands of it trailing down his back. He yelped out in surprise, spotting a long line of dark black hair curl its way down his front. He quickly washed out the remainder of the shampoo with water before grabbing a towel and running to the mirror to inspect himself and find out what was wrong. He gasped as soon as he saw his reflection. His previously black, unruly hair was now sleek, slightly curly and very, very long; in fact, it didn't look to dissimilar to Marlene's. But that wasn't the worse part- his face was somehow covered expertly in makeup. He spotted an old, grubby, but trustworthy flannel at the edge of the sink and immediately grabbed it, sticking it under the tap before trying to rid himself of the blue eye shadow and thick, black eyeliner that surrounded his eyes and the mascara that encased his eyelashes. But it didn't work; the flannel soaked in water had no effect on the makeup which remained stubbornly on his face. He looked exasperatedly at his girlish self, unsure how to rid himself of his new look.

"James!" James heard Sirius shout from the shower, "James, something's happened to my hair!" He then heard the click of the water being turned off and Sirius jumped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and hurried up to James and the mirror, screaming when he saw his reflection. Sirius's hair had also grown in length. Like James it was now a glossy load of curls that hung just below his waste.

"What's happened to me James!" Sirius shrieked, prodding his makeup covered face before proceeding to grab the old soap out of James's hands and attempting to scrub it off, the results as unsuccessful as James's. Both boys stood staring at each other in shock.

"You look like a girl," Sirius said, stepping closer to inspect James's face.

"Well so do you!" James responded, leaving another silence filled only with the sound of water from Colin's shower as both boys stared at each other intently.

"Guys, are you done in the shower yet?" Remus called from the dormitory.

"Yeah," James shouted back, "but-"

"Shh!" Sirius silenced James, quickly placing his hand over his friend's mouth. Jame's eyebrows knotted together in a questioning frown.

"I don't want to be the only ones dressed as a girl!" Sirius whispered as Remus shouted

"What? Didn't quite catch that?" from the other room. James looked at his friend, working out what he meant.

"No, Sirius that's to mean."

"But James-"

"No, think of how you would feel if they did this to you," James said sternly, uncharacteristically flicking his long locks of dark, curly hair over his shoulder. "Besides, were not the only ones." James indicated his head towards Colin's shower where the blonde boy was washing away, completely oblivious to his new hairstyle. Sirius smirked slightly at this thought before nodding at James and turning to shout to Remus and Peter.

"Guys there's been a, err, problem. Wait there while we get changed and we will show you." Both boys quickly put the witches robes back on and traipsed out of the bathroom, causing Peter and Remus to gasp out in horror as soon as they caught sight of James and Sirius's new look. Both boys then descended into a fit of laughter, something Sirius eyed them evilly for, making Peter stop instantly.

"Sorry Sirius," he said immediately, his voice quivering slightly as he spoke.

"Look its fine," James said quickly before Sirius got the chance, "But yeah, as you can see the shampoo and soap has been messed with- I would assume that it's the girls, but I guess we can't rule out other people yet. So you can have a shower but… yeah, you can't get the hair dye out without shampoo and you won't be able to remove the moustache without soap." He grimaced, looking apologetically between his friends, "Your choice- pink hair and moustache's or long hair and makeup."

"Can't we cut the hair?" Remus asked, once again trying to use logic to find the solution.

"No, at least not until we find out how they did it- chances are that the charm or potion will revert itself in a few days, meaning that if we've chopped bits off it won't go back to normal and we will probably look even worse at the end of it," Sirius explained, surprisingly knowledgeable about hair products, indeed James shot him a questioning look.

"My mum uses them," Sirius said defensively, turning a little pink.

"If you say so," James said dubiously before looking back at Remus and Peter, "so, what's your decision?"

The two boys looked at each other. "Well if we shower then there won't be as much time for breakfast" Remus reasoned, keen to avoid showering when there was a chance that anyone might see him.

"I agree with Remus, we should get some breakfast," Peter agreed.

"Ok, that's decided then," James said, "besides, it looks like a worse prank this way and I'm sure you can speak to some of the other students to lend you some stuff. Now, how were you getting on with getting that wardrobe down?" he asked, gesturing up to items of their bedroom now glued on the ceiling.

"We can't get it down," Peter said, looking down at his shoes as he spoke.

"Not at all?" Sirius asked.

"Well your welcome to try, but I have used every piece of magic I can think of," Remus indicated to his open books lying across the floor (the girls had left the things they needed for the days lessons out, something James and Remus had assumed Lily would be behind), " but none of it worked. Peter even put me on his shoulders so I could reach the wardrobe to try and try to open the door, but that's been stuck shut too, probably with the same stuff they used to stick everything on the ceiling." Sirius frowned at this as he unhappily looked down at the witch's robes he was wearing.

"Ah well, at least they didn't make us wear anything from Slytherin," James said, trying to make light of the situation, "and long hair kind of suits you Sirius."

Sirius looked at his reflection in the mirror, making a face that seemed to indicate that he agreed with what James had said. His hair had been a lot shorter than James's had originally so hadn't grown quite so much. It was just over shoulder length and despite the fact that Sirius would never were it this long through choice, and that the ringlets were embarrassingly girly, he had to admit that the longer hair suited him.

"Right well, I guess we better go to breakfast and face the fun of the humiliation of being dressed like a girl."

"Where's Colin?" Peter said suddenly, realising that the fifth boy wasn't with them.

"I think his still in the shower, you don't think his drowned do you," James asked jokingly before catching Sirius mutter, 'let's hope so,' out of the corner of his eye.

"We can go to breakfast without him, can't we?" Peter asked nervously.

"Of course we can, when has that stuck-up blonde ever been nice towards us?" Sirius said before sighing at the guilty look that had spread over both Remus and James's faces.

"You guys are just too nice, you know that?" He said incredulously, making his way towards the door.

"Sirius wait," James called, "look, let me at least knock on the shower door to let him know he needs to hurry up." Sirius sighed again, but waited at the door as James went into the shower room and knocked.

"Colin, you need to hurry up or you will miss the next lesson." James heard the boy yelp at this, followed by the hurried sound of him putting down the shampoo bottle and quickly switching off the shower.

"Sorry, I, er, was, um, I… I just forgot what the time was and all," Colin said, exiting the shower in a towel and hastily ushering James out of the bathroom so he could get changed. James walked out shell-shocked, a stunned expression plastered across his face. Colin's blonde hair flowed down to just above his knees in thick waves that contained hints of gold and silver and his makeup was incredible; a light silver eye shadow surrounded his blue eyes, giving them a sparkle they hadn't previously contained. All though his hair and makeup was truly beautiful, having been coupled with Colin's face it just made him look all the more hilarious.

"How does he look?" Sirius asked, immediately noting the confused and shocked expression painted across James face.

"Like a gir,l" was the only response James manage, but was interrupted when giving it by a high pitched scream.

"Well he sure screams like one," Sirius chuckled as his lips formed into a satisfied smirk, "hadn't he realised what had happened to him?"

"No, I think he was lost in a world of his own," James said, shaking his head as the shock wore off. It took ten minutes for Colin to finally emerge from the shower and a further five for each boy to pluck up the courage to go downstairs and face the humiliation that awaited them.

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><p><strong>AN: Hey! :) so thats more or less the girls first prank :) what did you think? I more or less came up with it myself (I just built on the obvious and kinda traditional idea of changing the coulour of their hair to making it longer and went from their) allthough I must admit that I kinda took the idea of the upsidedown dormitory from the twits as yeah, I used to love that book when I was little :) sorry for drawing out the prank and leaving cliff hanger endings that arn't real cliff hangers (don't worry, I'm don't think I'm being all dramatic and clever doing that, I know that I havn't really got enough dramatic tention to do it, I just find it easier to do leave it cliffhanger style when ending a chapter where there is no obvious place to stop), but yeah thats the prank part done, I'm just going to continue a little bit into the day and peoples (i.e. slytherins and McGonagalls) reactions before moving on with the story :) I hope your all enjoying it so far so please do review (after all this isthe longest chapter so far :) and I put a bit of effort into it) and add to your favourites and alerts :) it makes me very happy :) but hey, if you don't do any of that then oh well :) thank you for just reading my story (I'm assuming that by reading the authors note to chapter 22 you must at the very least like what I'm writing- a little big headed of me perhaps), that alone is worth a lot :) so yeah, hope your all well and the weather for you isn't as bad as it is here :) I will try and update soon, but school is a little hectic at the moment so please bear with me :)<strong>

**~millie-mae**

**UPDATE/EDIT: I'm so so so sorry about the uploading issues, I'm not sure what hapened but I will try my best to make sure it wont happen again :)**

**UPDATE/EDIT2: ok, I am very very confused, thankfully this hasn't deleted itself again but my account has now reviewed this story for chapter 19. I am ridiculously confused about this as I obviously have not gone and reviewed my own story so yeah :/ I'm guessing someone has hacked into my account (why I do not know) so needless to say I have now changed the password to something a lot more complicated and random. I just wanted to give you guys a heads up that this was happening so if anything goes funny with my story in the next few days please know that I am trying my best to sort it :) also does anyone know how to delete your own reviews?**

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><p>Sorenson Carlisle 616/12 . chapter 16

Nice chapter the details were nice!

**_thanks :)_**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 613/12 . chapter 21

With the kindle I had to use a key pad to type and it was hard but now I have my iPod touch to use because I finally charged it so I am now using that! Update sooooooooon!

_**thats good :) and will do :)**_

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><p>potterhead1997 613/12 . chapter 21

Oohh I can't wait for them to get to breakfast

**_ahh, sorry I wrote it wrong in the story- the prank dosn't happen at breakfast (as I guess you've now worked out) :/ sorry :/ I hoped you liked it anyway :)_**

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><p>Droupy48 613/12 . chapter 21

awww poor marauders lol can't wait for the next chapter!

_**haha, yeah :/ I hope you enjoyed it :)**_

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><p>Dndchk 613/12 . chapter 21

Yay! New chapter!

I really liked how you made marlene James' cousin instead of giving him a random sister, because that is just so overused. I can understand why they didn't hang out at Hogwarts- if it was me, I'd probably want to stay separate for a while.

Ooh, lily likes Remus, hmm? Hee hee hee! I can't wait to see what you'll do with that :P but I'm willing to bet everything that she'll make the first move, if she ever does.

I loved how they bluffed the bit about the hair dye that's not really hair dye! The Marauders need to exact their revenge for sure later :)

Your writing has improved so much since you started this. Keep up the AMAZING work!

**_thankyou :) yeah, same :) I think I'd probably do that to :) and yeah, a little bit, I'm not sure that she completly knows it yet though :) she more went red at the idea of liking a boy in that way than liking Remus in that way (if you know what I mean) :) and I would tell you but a) I don't want to ruin the plot and b) I havn't actually decided what to do about it. But yeah, the whole thing was to get them to all wash their hair to use the special shampoo :) and don't worry, there is no way that the marauders (or for that matter Colin) are going to let them get away with it :) and thankyou so so so so much :D as I'm sure you know that means so so much to me, a ridiculous amount :) so yeah, thankyou :D_**

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><p>redheaded-raindop 613/12 . chapter 21

Loved this! Please update soon i can't wait to see the rest of the prank:D

_**thank you so much :) I hope you liked it :)**_


	21. Reactions

The first year Gryffindor girls had been lounging around on the sofas and comfy chairs, waiting for the boys to come down stairs, cameras at the ready, as the other students slowly filtered out, leaving Gryffindor tower to head off to breakfast. When the five rather effeminate boys finally descended down the stairs and entered the common room the girls burst out with laughter, to the point where tears began to pour out of their eyes.

"Alright, alright, you've had your fun. Now please can you reverse whatever you have done to us and our dormitory?" James asked coolly, eying the camera in his cousin's hand angrily as the girls continued to laugh. Marlene and Martie looked at each other with mock surprise.

"You mean you don't like looking like this?" Marlene asked through constant giggles, "Because I think it is a massive improvement." All the girls roared with laughter again as the boys angrily stood there in silence.

"Look, let's just leave it and get to breakfast," Remus said to James, tired of the girls games, "at this rate we won't have time to eat and will miss the first lesson, getting us all into trouble." At 'won't have time to eat' Peter's ears pricked up.

"I agree with Remus," he said immediately, "let's go."

"Look just reverse the spell Marlene," James said.

"Beg for it," She responded, a twinkle in her hazel eyes.

"What!?"

"I said beg. Get on the floor, kiss my shoes and grovel"

James and Sirius's eyebrows shot up appalled at what the girls were asking them to do.

"It's the only way we will reverse the spells" Martie said teasingly.

James looked mortified and Sirius had paled at the mere thought of it. Colin however stepped forward.

"And will you put our room back to normal and make sure that we can get into our wardrobe?" he asked dubiously.

"We- well Lily I guess will do it as she's the smartest, so Lily will undo every spell we performed on you and your dormitory," Martie promised, an evil glint still lingering in her eye.

"Ok, fine," Colin said.

"You have to say that we are the greatest, cleverest, most beautiful witches you have ever seen, and that you are nothing compared to us," Amelie said warningly.

"Fine," Colin agreed, reaching his hand out to shake on the deal before looking at Remus.

"Fine," The young werewolf sighed, deciding that humiliating himself in front of the girls wasn't as bad as humiliating himself in front of the entire school.

"No. That is not going to happen, we are not going to give in Remu," James said, appalled at what Remus had agreed to do.

"Agreed," Sirius said, before quickly adding "with James, not Remus and Blondie."

"Blondie?!" Colin asked outraged.

"You have blonde hair," Sirius explained simply, shrugging before turning his attention back to the girls, "besides, how can we trust you?"

"We swear on our own lives, our mothers' lives and that of our cats, owls and frogs that we will reverse the spells," Marlene said solemnly, to which all five girls nodded.

"Nah, I'm still not doing it. I bet there's a loophole in there. It's a lot more humiliating for us to have to go around school looking like girls than making us tell you that you are sexy," Sirius said, causing Amelie and Mary to blush furiously and James's brow to furrow in deep thought.

"Ok, so you're swearing that you will reverse the spells," the dark hair boy mused, tugging slightly at his ringlets as he did so, "reverse the _spells,_" he repeated

"Yes, cousin, that is what I said. Congratulations, you can hear."

"Spells," James said again, ignoring Marlene, his eyebrows suddenly lifting and his hazel eyes lighting up, "But how much of what's happened to us and our dorm was done by spells? I mean even I don't know those spells yet-"

"*Cough* conceited, arrogant prat *Cough*"

"Shush Marlene! I'm thinking-"

"A first, I can assure you."

"Marlene!" James repeated, sending his cousin a dangerous look, "so," he continued, "if it wasn't all done with spells, then you don't have to reverse everything. Can you swear to us that you will change our hair back, take of all this silly makeup and put our room back to normal?"

"Hey Lily, I thought you said Remus was meant to be the clever one?" Martie said.

Marlene nudged her friend, whispering in her ear, "Maybe your crushing on the wrong guy Lily," turning the Gryffindor a fierce shade of scarlet.

"I'm not 'crushing' on anyone Marlene," she whispered back through clenched teeth, her eyes flashing a furiously. She was about to open her mouth to say more when she noticed that everyone had stopped talking to try and listen into her and Marlene's brief conversation.

"Hello? There are other people in this conversation. If you've got something to share then share it with the group," Sirius said, repeating a phrase that Professor McGonagall had used in the previous mornings transfiguration lesson. "You know what, I'm hungry and would quite like to get all of this over and done with, so can we stop playing your little game and just go to breakfast before it's too late and I die of starvation."

"But we've got long hair Sirius!"James protested.

"I don't care about my hair, personally I think it suits me," He said, flamboyantly flipping it over his shoulder, causing Mary and Amelie to sigh.

"I'm sorry but did you two just sigh?" Lily asked, cutting into the conversation as she and Allie took a step away from the two girls.

"No," they said in unison, giggling slightly. The rest of the Gryffindor first years shot them a series of strange looks, momentarily united in their confusion.

"Well, I think Black was saying something about breakfast," Lily said awkwardly as the group continued to stare at Amelie and Mary.

"Black now is it?" Sirius muttered as Peters stomach growled loudly. "Ok, fine, let's just get this over with and go to breakfast."

"Well were coming with you," Marlene said immediately, jumping off the sofa, "we need to make sure everyone notices your new look."

"No." James said simply.

"Urm yes we are," Marlene said, "You can't stop us."

"Fine, you go to breakfast, we won't."

"But we have to go to breakfast James," Peter said indignantly, his mouth hanging open slightly from the shock of the idea of not being able to eat.

"At this rate none of us will be going to breakfast," Remus interjected, checking the battered watch that was strapped to his wrist, "we've only got ten minutes before lessons start."

"Right, well I'm going to breakfast now and I don't really care who joins me" Sirius announced, beginning to make his way to the portrait hole as Peter scurried after him. James shook his head at his friend.

"People are going to laugh at you" he said warningly, dreading the idea of appearing like this in front of the Slytherins.

"Nah mate, you're the one that they will be laughing at, I look good."

"You do realise you're in a dress?"

"You do realise I was being sarcastic, besides, we are all in dresses," Sirius gestured round the room, "Even the girls are in dresses!"

James sighed, looking at his friend desperately before relenting and, shrugging his shoulders as casually as he could, he made his way over to the portrait hole, bracing himself for the other student's reactions.

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><p><strong>AN: hello :) I'm sorry that I've been dragging this on for so long : I'm fairly sure that this chapter wasn't that intersesting, and for that I'm sorry :/ although it dosn't look like I have been doing much I actually have (just behind the scenes type stuff) I have been trying to flesh out all the OCs, hopefully thats starting to come across in my writing (but don't worry if its not, I'm already aware that something I have to work on and pay attention to as characters such as Allie and Mary have done next to nothing in this chapter) I have also started to go through old chapters just to make sure that they read well and I have been tweaking them to make them better :) I've only done chapters 1 and 2 and its not enough that I would recomend that you re-read them (unless you want to anyway) as you won't be able to notice it :) I'm not republishing the chapters so don't worry :) you won't get a flood of authors alerts about it :) however re going over chapters is something that I will be constantly doing form now on, so maybe in like a years time the chapter will be different enough to bother with re reading them :) I have a hell of a lot of work coming up (part of both my drama and english gcses) so I might not be updating as frequently as I would like to but I will try and update at least once a week :) as always thank you so so so much for reviewing, I know that I always say this but its only because it means so much :) they make me genuinly so happy and encourage me to update and keep writing :) also a special thankyou to all those who leave constructive critism in their reviews as that is beyond helpful :) so thankyou everybody :)**

**~millie-mae **

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><p>Toby 618/12 . chapter 22

Sorry i was on holiday. Great chapter though, love how you spread the prank over some chapters :) Reading through the chapters one after the other is really different to waiting, sometimes the flow is a bit disrupted but it is great! You have worked hard on this and it shows. Cybercookies!

**_dont't worry :) I hope you had a nice holiday :) and thank you, I just hope I havn't drawn it out to long now though (the prank itself is more or less over, its more peoples reactions to it) and thank you so much for pointing that out, like I said in my authors note I've been going through old chapters and as soon as you said it I could see what you meant :/ I will try my hardest to make it flow better :) and thank you so much :) haha :) cybercookies to you too :)_**

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><p>Droupy48 617/12 . chapter 22

lol very clever prank so far :) please update soon!

_**thankyou :) I will try to :)**_

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><p>Potterhead1997 617/12 . chapter 22

Oohh now I am even more excited for breakfast. this is going to be great!

_**ahah :) I hope your not disapointed, to be fair the reaction will more be from students in the lesson :)**_

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><p>Blue Luver5000 617/12 . chapter 22

Yah I have my phone back now so I can read normaly again! Update sooooon!

**_good stuff :) and will do :)_**

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><p>Sorenson Carlisle 617/12 . chapter 22

Nice chapter I never really thought lily as the prankster

I try to review as much as I can but im lazy :)

Also again don't forget about snape especially with lily. But you don't have to too much cause it's a more marauders pov.

Serius to me I think he should be more trucked I mean he's not a slytherin :)

DONT FORGET IT'S YOUR STORY DO WHAT YOU WANT AND HAVE FUN :)

_**haha, and thankyou for reviewing when you can, it honestly means so much :) and I won't forget, as part of my 'behind the scenes' work I've been starting to sketch out their story in my mind and have been reading Lily/snape fanfiction as well as rereading **_**that _chapter :) and I'm really sorry but I can't work out what you mean by 'trucked' :/ I'm sure I'm misssing the obvious (whether its a typo or not) :/ but don't worry I won't and I am certainly enjoying writing this :)_**

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><p>Judichi 617/12 . chapter 22

hilarious! loved it! amazing! update soon!

_**ahh thank you :D will do :)**_

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><p>narnarn 617/12 . chapter 22

easily the funniest chapter yet :D keep writing, your talented

**_thankyou so so much :)_**

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><p>lexilexi 617/12 . chapter 22

laughed. my. head. off.

_**yay :D **_

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><p>Dndchk 617/12 . chapter 22

Oh. My. God- I was laughing SO hard at the boys' expressions, the hair/makeup thing, and the upside-down room! (I was thinking they should have put glue on their heads and stood in them until they shrank into nothingness :P)

The bit about sharing the showers was making me crack up(we'll wear pants, it won't be pervy or anything) haha. And Remus' reaction to that was really good- sorry that I like to point him out more than anyone, but finding a well-written story about him where he's NOT gay is a rare thing... *stabs self* Okay, I'll stop rambling. UPDATE SOON PLEASE!

**_ahhh thank you so so much :D and yeah, that would have been good :) haha thank you again :) and yeah, I must confess that I am a little bit of a fan of gay Remus :) but don't worry, in this story he is perfectly straight :) haha :) I will try my best :)_**

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><p>Chousi 617/12 . chapter 21

Great chapter even if you were tired while you did it ! :)

I love long chapter :p

**_ahh thank you so much :) to be fair I think I'm very tired whilst writing most chapters :) and I will try and make all my chapters longer :)_**


	22. Good Friends

Breakfast wasn't as bad as the boys had anticipated or the girls had hoped; by the time they had eventually made it to the Great Hall most of the students had already left for lessons and the ones that remained behind were in such a hurry to finish whatever they were eating that they paid little or no attention to the Gryffindor first years. Marlene had tried her best to alert the other students to the boys new look but the most she had got was a laugh out of a fifth year Slytherin. But even this was enough to upset Peter, causing the boy to drop the fork he had been holding in embarrassment.

"You alright mate, you just dropped your fork?" James asked cautiously, indicating to the silver object that lay under the table.

"I'm fine," Peter mumbled, hastily ducking under the table to retrieve the cutlery.

"You sure?"

"I'm fine James," Peter said a little too firmly, "You don't have to worry." James reluctantly nodded, but every time Peter glanced to where the boy was sitting he found James's concerned hazel eyes looking directly back at him. Despite this, no one else made a comment during breakfast, so Peter was able to hold himself together. It was only when they began to make their way to Herbology that people really started to take notice.

"Wow, loving the new look girls," a third year ravenclaw smirked as she passed them in the corridor. Peter lowered his head, embarrassment flushing through his face as he tried to walk quicker.

"Why thank you," James called back confidently, flicking his long black locks over his shoulder. Peter didn't understand how James, Sirius and even Remus (Colin had left breakfast long before they had, eager not to be late for herbology) seemed to be so calm about it, they had quickly gotten over the fact that they looked like girls and seemed to even be finding it funny themselves, leaping at the chance to make a joke about their 'new look'. Peter however didn't feel like this, every time someone made a comment he felt his face burn a deeper shade of red whilst he clenched his fists and blinked repeatedly, forcing himself not to cry.

"You alright Pete?" James asked quietly, looking seriously into the pudgy boys face as he hung back, slightly away from the group.

"I'm fine James."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Peter lied, furiously trying to stop the rush of tears fall down his cheek. He knew that the one thing he couldn't do was cry in front of James. It was already a miracle that the boy wanted to be his friend and he didn't want to lose him too soon.

"You know, you really don't look that bad, you've just got pink hair and a moustache, It's not like you've got a face full of makeup and hair that hits your bum every time you walk," James said smiling, "It really is very annoying."

"How do you do it James?" Peter blurted out

"Do what?"

"How do you turn this all into some big joke that somehow now doesn't seem to be on you?" James smiled slightly, leaning closer to the boy as the gap between them and the rest of the Gryffindors widened.

"Well, the way I see it is if a jokes going to be made about me then I might as well make it first. It won't be as funny, but then people are laughing with you not at you. Besides I'm in a dress for Merlins sake, of course people are going to laugh."

Peter snorted, "You really are quite wise James."

"Shushh, don't go telling everyone!" James said, jokingly clamping his hand over Peter's mouth, his hazel eyes twinkling, "I might lose whatever remains of my reputation!"

"You're in a dress James; I don't think anything's left."

"Oi!" James shouted, giving Peter a friendly push.

"What are you two doing back there?" Lily asked, dropping back from the group of girls a couple of paces ahead of them, curiously looking at the two boys who were in fits of laughter.

"Nothing," they said in unison.

Lily narrowed her eyes slightly before turning around to follow the girls, Sirius and Remus out of the castle. They made their way as a group across the grounds until reaching the herbology greenhouses where the Slytherins stood lined up outside. At first the other house didn't know quite what to make of what appeared to be nine girls and two pink haired boys standing in front of them, but it only took a few seconds for the penny to drop and the Slytherins to burst out with laughter, causing Peters face to once again falter.

"Wow, who knew that Gryffindor had gained so many female students this year?" A thuggish boy snorted, causing the gang of Slytherins to laugh harder.

"That's not even remotely witty," James said confidently, batting off the Slytherins reaction.

"Oh really pretty boy?" the boy said, taking a menacing step towards James.

"You think I'm pretty!" James squealed in a high pitched voice, batting his eyelashes furiously, "Sirius! Siruis! He thinks I'm pretty!"

"That's not what I meant," The boy stammered, his friends sniggering behind him.

"You sure, because if it was then how about you, me, the lake, after dinner?" James gave him a wink and began twirling his hair around his finger, "think about it?" he said, smiling suggestively. The Gryffindors were in pieces as James spoke, Peter felt as if his sides were actually going to split.

"Your gay, you know that Potter." The boy spat, trying to regain his original menacing composure.

"Brilliant. When in doubt resort to calling the person gay. Your wittiness and originality is beyond belief Avery," James said dryly before turning to the girls and, giving them a quick wink, said, "I'm not gay though, just in case you were wondering."

"And with that sentence he takes something that was hilarious and turns it into something cringe worthy," Marlene muttered under her breath. James was laughing too hard at his own joke to hear what she had said but Lily was standing closer and smiled lightly at this. Peter however had heard Marlene and also noticed Lily's smile, he couldn't quite put his finger on it but there was something beautiful and honest in her smile. He knew that James hated the redheaded girl, but Peter had to admit to that he quite like her. He liked the way her red hair trailed down her face in soft waves, he liked the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed. Lily looked up suddenly, catching Peter staring at her. She gave him a questioning look as he hurriedly averted his gaze to the floor and started to awkwardly laugh at James's latest joke, to which he had only heard the last line of. He had to stand there for five more minutes, determinedly not looking at Lily, before Professor Klump finally emerged out of the greenhouse. He made them all stand in a line, ticking them off a register as they entered the greenhouse, looking up in surprise when James said his name.

"Why are you dressed as a girl Potter?" He asked in his deep, gruff voice.

"Well, you see professor, some awful person decided it would be funny to change the way all the boys from Gryffindor looked and dressed," He responded innocently, eyeing Marlene whilst he spoke, emphasizing the word awful.

"Right. Do you know who this awful person was Potter?"

Marlene and the rest of the girls held their breath, looking at James pleadingly, worried by the evil glint in his eye.

"Well professor..." He started with a grin, knowing the pain he was causing the girls, "No, I don't." Marlene sighed and gave James a thankful look as Sirius and Peter looked at him suspiciously, surprised at what he had done.

"Are you sure?" the beefy professor asked, not believing a word coming out of James's mouth.

"I'm sure," he said.

"Right, well in that case Mr Potter, I would advise you, Mr Black and Mr Pettigrew to go and see Madame Pomfrey, I'm sure that she will fix you up. I want you to go straight there and straight back, no dawdling. Do I make myself clear?"

"But what about Remus?" James asked immediately.

"What about Lupin?" Professor Klump said blankly. Peter didn't like the way the professor spat out his friends last name as if it were some crude word.

"Well Remus has obviously been targeted by these vandals too, so I was just double checking that he could come with us?"

"I see nothing wrong with Lupin."

"What?" James protested, bewildered at the Professors refusal to acknowledge the fluorescent pink hair and the badly drawn moustache sketched across his friends face, "What do you mean you see nothing wrong with him? Look at his hair for Merlins sake! I mean for the love of-"

"That is enough Mr Potter. Stop wasting my time and make your way to the Hospital wing before I feel the need to deduct house points."

"But-"

"James its fine," Remus said quietly, "Just go, I can go later."

"But-"

"James its fine." The werewolf said firmly

"But-"

"Mr Potter, I advise you to follow Lupins advice and go." Klump said as he pushed Remus inside the greenhouse and shut the door behind them, silencing James's further protests. Peter looked at James in disbelief.

"I can't believe he just did that" Sirius said, echoing Peters thoughts.

"What the hell has that middle aged idiot got against Remus? I thought all the teachers loved him!" James exclaimed as they began to make their way up to the hospital wing. Peter opened his mouth to say something but then closed it quietly. Although he had to admit that most of the teachers did love Remus, after all the boy was clever, hard working and had the truly magical ability of occasionally (_very_ occasionally) being able to control James and Sirius, this was not true from all of them. Indeed Klump had been unfortunately mean towards the boy since the first lesson; he always seemed to pick on Remus to do the most disgusting tasks herbology had to offer. Last lesson there hadn't been enough pairs of dragon hide gloves to go around so Remus had been forced to remove the thorns from a hellypickle flower with his bare hands. James had offered to give him his gloves but Klump had overheard and refused it. In Klumps defence the hellypickle flower was fairly harmless, it only irritated the skin of magical creatures such as hippogriffs and werewolves, but even so, if something unfortunate was to happen in herbology, it would always happen to Remus. However, now Peter thought about it, the further he realised that the boy received a similar cold treatment in potions. Although Professor Slughorn wasn't quite so openly unkind, he could never remember the Professor once choosing Remus's potion as the best in class, or for that matter commenting heavily on his work or even answering his questions. All of this Remus dealt with quietly, putting on a mask to act like he hadn't noticed or didn't mind. But If Peter had, Remus must of done. Peter wasn't quite sure exactly why the boy was being so heavily discriminated against, but as he walked up to the castle he made a promise to himself that not only would he find out, but he would help. If he brought extra equipment to herbology then Remus wouldn't have to go without and if he made a song and dance about Remus's work in potions, it would hopefully force Slughorn to do the same. Most importantly, however, Peter wanted to make sure that Remus wasn't upset or discouraged with whatever was happening to him and support him through it. He wanted to be the friend for Remus that James had been to him only moments before.

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><p><strong>AN: so what did you think of the story being from peters p.o.v.? As I have said in previous authors notes I have been starting to build a proper background for the characters so I really know who I'm writing about but I'm a little worried that as you, the of so lovely reader, don't know this (its not a secret to be gradually revield in high tention- its just I havn't put it in the story yet) that he appears to be a little bit too upset by the comments? whilst I'm on this subject I was thinking of possibly writing about each character recieving their letter so I can give you a glimpse into their home life which, at this stage of the story, pretty much defines them :) please tell me what you think about this and if you would like this then whether you would want it to be seperate from this story or attached as a prologue at the start (although their would be too many chapters as a prologue) so yeah please give me your thoughts :) now where was I before that brief interlude? ah yes, peter pettigrew. So how was it from his view? I find Peter a really interesting character as it wasn't just that he was tortured for information and gave it away under pressure, he actually joined the death eaters, going against supposedly everyone he even vaguely liked. So yeah, your going to get quite a bit of his story in mine (if you know what I mean)- though fear not people who don't like this as it won't in anyway over shadow anything else, it will just be gradually building up and running alongside it :) Also I was getting the feeling from the last chapters reviews that people were getting a little bored of the prank as I had let in run on throughout the chapters for too long so I hope you liked the fact that this was a slightly more <em>sirius<em> (ahahah :D I am so so witty and original) :) As always thank you for those lovely reviews as they really do make my day :D now I have to exams coming up (I know, both you and I thought that they were finished for the year but unfortunatly my school like to lie to me) and both are parts of my actual GCSE so could you please please do me a massive favour and put at the end of a review that I need to go and do my work? I know it sounds a silly request or like some kind of ploy to get more reviews, but I find it really hard to focus and I honestly think that I will do more work if the constant reminder is there :) I've done a deal with myself to work solidly for half and hour for every review I get, solidly for an hour for every review telling me to work I get/every add to an alert and solidly for and hour and a half for every favourite I get :) Like I've already said this isn't some ploy to get more reviews or favourites or anything, and if you really want you can wait till my exams are over (wednesday) or the next chapters out to do anything if you think it is to make some kind of point :) but yeah, as always thank you so so much for reading and I will hope to update again soon after wednesday :)**

**~millie-mae**

**ps: the line breaker thingys wern't working properly so there might be some missing inbetween reviews. I'm really sorry about this and will fix it as soon as I can :)**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 621/12 . chapter 23

Please update sooooooooon! I neeed more I want to know what happens to the marauders when they enter the great hall! Update sooooooon!

**ahh I'm so sorry but yeah, not much happens :/ all I meant by the girls telling the third years (was it third years? I think it was thrid years) to look out for them during breakfast was that by that point in time they would have long hair and makeup, sorry :/ hope you wern't too disapointed :/**

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><p>Maraudergirl888 621/12 . chapter 9

I just found this story, and wanted to say, THIS IS WHAT IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR! A marauders story with a plot, characters IN character (IE Remus being all smart, Sirius and James being asses but yet awesome, Peter being a wimp, but still nice, etc) I love it! so far, I dont like Collin, but for some reason I think I will later in the story, or that he will become a Marauder... Or a friend, or just not mean or some sort of twist. He is Gryffindor, after all! Now, I must catch up on the rest of the story!

**_thank you so so much :) I must admit that I often am a little nervous that my characters are OOC as I want them to grow into the characters they are later on when Harry's alive :) and yeah.. Colin.. well the one thing I can promise is that he won't become a fifth marauder as this story is going to be as close to cannon as I can get it :) I hope you like the rest of the story :) please tell me what you thought about it :D_**

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><p>Droupy48 621/12 . chapter 23

lol I love how even when Sirius looks ridiculous the girls still have a crush on him :D Can't wait for the next chapter!

**ahah :) yeah , good ol' Sirius :) and I hope you enjoyed it :)**

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><p>Chousi 621/12 . chapter 23

Great job really ! :)

I just failed an oral exam yesterday (and by saying failed i mean FAILED AND HUMILATED in front of my professor, i just hate him right now) so i'm kinda in a bad/sad/angry mood but your story help me to think about something else, so THANK YOU :)

**_thankyou :) and honestly don't worry :) I remember a few years ago when the examiner simply asked me something and I went completly blank. I told them where I lived and what my family was like. She looked at me confused and repeated the quetion so I told her another generic answer (I think it was about what I did and didn't like to do in my free time). It went on like this for a good fifteen minuets before she finally told me in english that she just needed to know what my name was to mark me off on a sheet and that the exam hadn't even started yet :S so don't worry :) You won't have been worse than me :)_**

Chousi 6/21/12 . chapter 22

Great chapter ! :)

I'm happy that i took delay on my reading so now i just can clik to see the following chapter ! :)

_**thankyou :) and I love doing that, its so nice not having to wait on cliff hangers and just find out exactly whats happening straight away :)**_

Sorenson Carlisle 6/20/12 . chapter 23

Thanks for the chapter even tho it was kinda short and mm in it can't wait for the next one.

As for the last one trucked was a huge typo sorry if it confused you I meant like worried and kinda scarred cause he's a Black In gryphandor

Love the story :)

**_thanks :) and sorry about the length :/ I made this one longer :) ahha :) thanks for explaing and sorry as I'm really bad at decoding typos :)_**

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><p>Ddchk 620/12 . chapter 23

*Dies laughing*

GROVEL! Lol. Loved it. Very good- I can't wait until breakfast!

Chapter 13 of my story is up now.

Enough self- promotion- I'll mention yours in my AN next time. Whenever I get the email alert for your story, I jump like a foot in the air, I'm THAT excited.

**_Ahh thankyou :) although yeah, breakfast wasn't all that exciting, sorry :/ and thanks for telling me :) I've just read and reviewed and I loved it :) (I quite like the character Mr Zonko for some wierd reason and I love the fact that they meet him) and don't worry about self promotion :) you deserve all the readers and reviewers your story gets (AN within an AN: If you havn't read Ddchk's story yet and you like fith marauder storys then please go and read it as its brilliant) and thank you so so so much :D I feel the same whenever I get enough time to read yours :)_**

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><p>Ukie-girl 620/12 . chapter 23

wow, you sure are stretching out this one prank...

I think the boys should have thought of this: if they showed no reaction to the style changes, clothes, dormitories and reactions of other students, the girls would get bored and stop it

They are smart boys, they should have realized this. Then the girls wouldn't be tempted to do it again because they didn't get any amusing reactions.

I am curious for your next chapter :)

keep up the great work!

ukie-girl :)

**_yeah I guess I am :/ I have changed the focus of this chapter so its not on the prank so much as the characters and story progression blah blah blah :) so thanks for pointing it out :) And I guess but, to be fair they wern't expecting it so their reactions, I think, are natural :) also I have a brother and although I know he only winds me up for a reaction I still give him one every time as eventually someone gets under your skin just a little too much :) I hope you liked this chapter and thank you :)_**


	23. Standing Up

Remus felt his eyes begin to water as Klump slammed the door shut, leaving the boy standing alone at the front of the class. Slytherins and Gryffindors alike shot him curious glances, confused as to why the Professor hadn't allowed him to go to the school's matron.

"Well, sit down," Klump said gruffly as he made his way to the blackboard, taking out a piece of gnarled chalk before begining to write, scratching it painfully into the blackboards hard surface. Remus looked awkwardly around the classroom. He would normally have sat with his friends, but as they were all at Madame Pomfrey's and Colin was strangely absent, he felt slightly lost. There was no way that he could sit next to the Slytherins who, despite their confusion, were still laughing at his bubblegum pink hair, making cruel comments just loud enough for the rest of the class to hear. It wasn't like he could sit with the girls either as they had only last night dyed his hair and drawn on his face. Then again, he thought, he did get on well with Lily. He looked shyly over to her and as soon as she gave a wide smile back he felt silly for even contemplating not sitting with her.

"Remus, just come and sit next to us," Lily said immediately, moving her stuff over to make a space for Remus. He squeezed in between Lily and Allie before taking his quill and books out of his bag and began to work, quickly jotting down the notes Klump had scrawled across the blackboard. After only a few minutes of this he felt someone gently nudge the side of his elbow.

"Remus, I know it's none of my business but why won't Proffesor Klump let you go to Madame Pomfrey?" Lily whispered.

Remus paused hesitantly, "I don't know," he lied, giving the red headed girl a small smile.

"Well there must be a reason?"

"Well if there is then I don't know it," Remus said with a small chuckle, lying again.

"Remus, I don't mean to sound weird or stalkerish," Lily began tentatively, twirling a long curl of red hair nervously around her finger, "but I've noticed how he treats you-"

"Excuse me," Proffesor Klump said loudly, "Remus Lupin would you please stop harassing Miss Evans and get on with your work."

"Sorry," Remus muttered, immediately turning back to his work.

"I'm sorry Professor, it's my fault, I was the one speaking to Remus- he wasn't harassing me. I won't do it again."

"Humph," The professor snorted, "I highly doubt that Miss Evans." Lily looked at him irritably, opening her mouth to reply before, after second thoughts, shutting it again and returning to her own work with a frown.

"Sorry," she whispered apologetically to Remus, "I didn't mean to get you into trouble."

"Mr Lupin, I heard that," Klump snarled accusatively from the front of the classroom.

"Sorry," Remus repeated, trying to bury himself behind his work.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" Lily said loudly, "I was the one who spoke."

"Must I tell you one more time Remus Lupin? Do not speak in this class without being given my expressed permission!"

"And must I tell you one more time Professor that Remus hasn't been talking!" Lily blurted out, anger ringing in each syllable as she dramatically rose from her seat. A shocked expression momentarily flickered through her eyes as she realised exactly what she had said, but this was quickly replaced with a look of defiance as she eyed the professor angrily. The class held their breath as they looked fearfully between Lily and the large professor.

"Miss Evans, I would strongly advise you to stop right there," The Herbology Professor said threateningly as Amelie hissed,

"Lily, just drop it, you're going to get into trouble."

Lily shot the blonde a scathing look, her green eyes flashing dangerously. "I'm sorry Amelie if you think that standing up for my friends when they are clearly being victimised is something that I should just drop when it might harm me in some way but-"

"Detention," Klump said simply, a smile almost managing to pass through his puffy lips, "For both Miss Evans and Remus Lupin."

Lily looked frustratedly towards the smug, stubby professor. "What has Remus done?" She asked, trying to adopt a calmer tone of voice.

"Lily, please, just drop it." Remus whispered quickly, something that was ignored by both the professor and his fiery, red headed friend.

"You have both disrupted my class Miss Evans, something which you seem to be intent to continue doing. Perhaps if I were to raise the number of detentions you might see sense and stop."

"You can't do -" Lily began, but was cut off by the loud thump of the green house door opening. James, Sirius, Peter and Colin all filed in, their hair, faces and clothing looking perfectly normal. They were about to make their way to their seats before freezing, sensing the tension in the room. James looked curiously between the professor and Lily who was still standing with a livid expression etched across her face. Sirius however seemed to notice only one thing.

"Hey Remus, you're sitting with the girls!"

"Boys, you have already missed enough lesson time, so unless you wish to end up with as many detentions as Miss Evans and your friend here I would strongly advise you to stop talking, sit down and get on with the work." Klump said sternly.

The last part of what he had said however fell on deaf ears as James gaped at Lily.

"You have a detention?!" He wasn't sure whether to be appalled or impressed as he continued staring at her opened mouthed, "Lily Evans has a detention! Evans has a detention! Even we haven't had a detention yet""

"Mr Potter if you don't sit down this instant that is something that I am sure can be rectified."

"But Evans has a detention!" James repeated, trying to stress how monumentally important and unexpected this was.

"We understand this Potter as, unlike you, we were all there," Lily said flippantly as she tried to restart arguing Remus's case, "Professor, Whilst I grudgingly accept my own detentions can you not at least reconsider Remus's?"

"Remus! You also got a detention!" James exclaimed as he looked in surprise at his friend, only just realising that he was to other pupil to obtain this badge of honour. The grin on his face, however, faltered as he remembered something.

"Oh, Professor, Madame Pomfrey asked if she could see Remus."

"Well I am afraid that that is a little visit Remus will have to make outside of my lesson time."

"But you let us go," James said, confused.

"Yes, I did."

"Well, why won't you let Remus go?" James asked, beginning to adopt a similar tone to the one Lily had been using just moments before.

"Potter, sit down," Klump said loudly. James turned back to Remus,

"What did you get the detention for Remus?" he asked hesitantly. Both the young boy and the professor opened their mouths to fill James in, but it was Lily who got there first, causing the smirk that had been stretched across James's face to now completely disappear, replaced instead with an angry frown, and a brief look of realisation as he thought back to what he had accidently overheard in the hospital wing. He looked up, realising that the rest of the class were intently watching the dramatics being played out in front of them; the faint scratch of hard working quills had been non-existent for quite some time now.

"What do you have against my friend?" James asked in a quiet but determined voice.

"Mr Potter, you are treading on very thin ice, I suggest that you-"

"No." James said, cutting across the teacher, "Answer my question Professor, what do you have against my friend?"

There was a beat of silence where no one even dared to breathe. The class was on tenterhooks as they looked in awe at James; his cold, quiet tone and serious side was something few had ever seen before and, contrasted with Lily's loud, brash, all guns blazing approach, it was almost mesmerising. Indeed Professor Klump was left speechless. As further beats of silence echoed through the greenhouse Klump finally managed to twist his oddly shaped face into an angry frown and say,

"You may join Miss Evans and Lupin in detention tonight, tomorrow night and the night afterwards." If he had expected a startled or scared reaction from the boy then he would have been extremely disappointed as James merely sighed and gave the teacher a pitying look,

"Fine, but now can you please let Remus go and see Madame Pomfrey as she said she doesn't just want to see him about his new hairstyle, but his mothers deteriorating health." At this James shot Remus an awkward and apologetic look and Lily reached out to squeeze the boy's hand; something James found himself, for some unknown reason, slightly disgruntled and unhappy about.

"To repeat what I said earlier, visiting Madame Pomfrey is something Lupin will have to do in his own time."

"This isn't right," Lily said, standing up again, "You shouldn't treat him so differently, it's not fair."

"Well life isn't fair sweetie," Klump said in a patronising voice. The condescending tone, coupled with the word 'sweetie' relit Lily's temper.

"That hardly justifies anything," She responded coolly, hints anger flashing through her voice as she spoke.

"Well what are you going to do about it?" Klump asked.

"I'm going to go to Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall and complain."

"Let's go now."

Lily snapped her head round to James, raising her eyebrows uncertainty at him.

"I'm being serious," James continued, "let's go now." Lily was about to tell him off for being so stupid when the Herbology Professor interrupted.

"Potter, don't you even think of walking out that door."

"Fine," Lily said, regretting the words as soon as they left her lips, "let's go now." So, after giving Remus a final apologetic look, to the gasps of the class and the horror of Amelie, James and Lily strode defiantly out of the herbology greenhouse in search of Professor Dumbledore.

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><p><strong>UPDATE: this (the chapter) has been edited (by me, so any mistakes are still my own) so things written in the authors note might now not make sence :) <strong>

**AN: hmm :/ I'm not exactly happy with this chapter so please tell me where improvements are needed :) I'm a little worrid that Lily has come across as too confrentational and the whole thing is a little over the top :/ also the first time I wrote it it was way to much like a drama essay (eg: 'no' James said, cutting across the teacher to increase tention, using a hurt, slightly angry tone of voice coupled with slow pace and low volume to...) so yeah, I have struggled a bit with this chapter so please tell me what you honestly think as its the only way I will ever improve :) anyways onto over things :) I have decide that I will do a prequeal to this about them all getting their letters (as described in more detail in the last auth****ors note) but I'm going to do it as a seperate story opposed to tacking them onto the begining of this, so please keep your eyes peeled for that :) thankyou so much to all those who incouraged me to revise :) it was very very helpful and I have hopefully done ok in my exams :) ...and I can't really think of what else to say... just thank you so so much for reading, reviewing and subscribing (if that's the right word) to this story, you are all lovely, beautiful and undoubtedly sexy people :) so thank you :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>David Grave 627/12 . chapter 24

MORE! great story. I'm happy that Peter isn't so ... well, you know. I'm glad he has his own personality, which is one of my mistakes. But it's because I don't like him. I like the way Lily is in this story as well. After all, she is a woman and most women love revenge. Please continue!

_**Ahh! thank you so so much :D and yeah, I also strongly dislike (aka hate) peter so have been trying hard to make sure I don't exclude him too much :) and haha 'most women love revenge' :) well I could accuse you of being sexist but I guess its kinda true :P in Lily's case at the very least :) thank you for your review and don't worry, I will of course continue :)**_

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><p>Toby 626/12 . chapter 24

I really like your story, ver y in chatacter ,growing people, not too OTT with the OCs, well done so far and keep going strong. One thing is that I like chapter like this one as opposed to some recent ones-longer and more spread apart instead of shorter and faster.

_**thank you so so much :) I will try and get some longer chapters in my story more often, as I think I've said before ideally I would love to write each chapter at around 4,000 words each, but at the moment thats just not possible as I don't have the time :/**_

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><p>Droupy48 625/12 . chapter 24

I can't believe he did that to Remus! Anyways, very well written (as always!) Please update soon!

**_mmm :( poor Remus :( and thank you so much :) I will try my best :)_**

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><p>Sorenson Carlisle 624/12 . chapter 3

It won't let me review twice so I went to a chapter which I lazily decided not to review so any way :)

I hope they find a secret passage way soon that would be cool. Does he have his invisible cloak yet? Even a small short cut transfiguration would do actually that would be awesome!

And flying class that's a fun subject. KEEP WRITING

DONT DO YOUR WORK HAHA!

_**ahh yeah that would be cool :D they have found the kitchens, so I will try and structure the next prank around that but then yeah :) I will try and get them to find a passageway :) and no, he dosn't :/ the first time I wrote this (I stopped after about five chapters- something that is not going to happen this time) he did have it to begin with, but I want them to do some exploring without it first :) and that is an amazing idea :D thats actually really really good :) can I use it? I will obviously credit you for it in the authors note :) and yes, I was planning on writing about the flying class soon :) thank you :D**_

_**and don't say that! :O honestly when I saw this I abandoned my work, went downstairs, ate a bowl of ice cream and watched a movie :/ **_

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><p>Sorenson Carlisle 624/12 . chapter 24

Nice chapter with peters pov like how the fact that he has kinda cought on to lily's crush on james haha.

Love how James can turn a joke around.

Wow feel sorry for Remus it's not his fault. Could you not put said the werwolf and such it's kinda demeaning as he has a name?

I just realized Collin is like Hermione (not as smart). is he a pure blood?

Do your work or not I mean Ptsh who does that? Oh wait no one

**_thanks :) and actually he hasn't picked up on it :) on the werewolf front I'm really sorry I don't mean it to be demeaing in the slightest, its just Its very heavy to keep calling him 'Remus' so in a similar say as to refer to Lily I might say 'the small, red headed witch' I occasionally call Remus 'the werewolf', however you do have a valid point so I promise I will only use it when I absolutly have to :) and yeah ahha :) Collin is (unintentionaly) a little like Hermione and no, like her he is a muggleborn :) _**

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><p>Chousi 624/12 . chapter 24

Thks for the response to my review, your little story made me feel better. But I'm sorry for you too. Aaaargh Oral exams are the WORST !

I really love this chapter. I love how James react about the prank (it's true that its starting to be long)

And I also love how you describe Peter pov.

He is a really intersting character. And the fact he's "under Lily's spell" is a great idea ! :)

I HATE THE HERBOLOGY PROFESSOR !

But i kind love the idea the boys starting wondering why it happens. (but i'm still hoping that they wont discover too soon)

Poor poor Remus.

I love that little dude.

The idea of each character recieving their letter : BRILLIANT.

Can't wait to read that, i'm really interested about each home. I'm specially interested about Marlene family and her link with James's family.

Now, GO TO WORK AND STUDY !

I'll send you all my courage !

**_honestly don't worry about it :) and I'm glad I helped even just a little bit :) and sorry about the lenghth, I'm trying to draw focus away from it now as I wrap up all the loose ends (like the fact everything in their dorm is still stuck to the ceiling) and yeah :) ahah :) thankyou :) and same :/ I hate him to :/ and don't worry with this chapter, they arn't going to discover about his fury little problem too soon :) and thank you :) I will write it as soon as I decide which character to start with :) and I will make sure to include that :) and thank you so so much :D_**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 623/12 . chapter 24

It is fine why cant remus tell dumblydore bout klump? Please updTe sooooon!

_**he is too embarased and Remus being Remus thinks he kinda deserves it (which is stupid) but yeah, James and Lily are going to tell him :)**_

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><p>Dndchk 623/12 . chapter 24

Haha, that was funny, te bit about the Slytherins and James twirling his hair (I could totally see him doing a falsetto!) and I liked the bit from Peter's POV. I think he would be the kind of over sensitive person, and you really did a good job with him.

Hey- I just realized my Dranseau is like your Klumpp. I think it's funny how Peter seems to be the one who's figuring out Remus' secret :P

I am so, so sorry I didn't mention your story in my A/N. I'll try to remember next time :( *stabs self*

NOW GO STUDY! :P

_**haha :D thanks :) and yeah, they are quite similar :) honestly don't worry about it, I never asked you to do it and you really don't have to, the fact you leave such wonderful reviews and write such wonderful stories for me to read is enough :) and thanks :D will do :D**_


	24. Out of Lessons

"Were making quite a habit of this Evans" James said as the two students walked down a long corridor in search of the headmaster.

"Making quite a habit of what?"

"Walking around the castle when we're meant to be in lessons," James answered simply.

"This is only the second time Potter."

"Well, we should do it more often then," James said, causing a smile to flicker across Lily's lips.

"Yeah, because dramatically storming out of lessons was something I was planning on making a habit of," She said with a small laugh as they turned a corner and continued down the seemingly endless hallway.

James grinned. "So, what should we do when we do this again?"

"I was only joki-"

"I know you were joking," he said quickly, "I just meant, purely hypothetically, if we were to do this again, what would you do? - theoretically of course," he added hastily, causing Lily grin,

"Some very big words there Potter- 'hypothetically', 'theoretically', are you quite sure you know what they mean?" she said teasingly as James feigned offence.

"Really Evans! I'm not stupid you know!" James gave her a playful push to which Lily returned a not so playful shove, causing James to trip over. The pair were giggling so much that not only had they forgotten the reason they were out of lessons in the first place, but they didn't notice Professor McGonagall walk out of the staff room and begin to make her way down the corridor.

"Mr Potter, Miss Evans, what are you doing out of lessons?" She said loudly, making both first year students violently jump.

"Well you see Professor-" James began.

"Mr Potter, I have already endured enough of your wild tales and explanations at the start of, and countless times during, each transfiguration lesson. Miss Evans, I think it would be better for you to explain." McGonagall said curtly. Lily nodded hurriedly, all laughter lost from her face as she timidly looked up at McGonagall.

"Professor McGonagall," she started with a slight squeak, petrified of angering the strict teacher further, "I am very, very sorry for being out of lessons, and I understand why this is not normally aloud, however we were looking for Professor Dumbledore."

"Why?"

"Well James, Peter, Colin, Sirius and Remus all woke up this morning to the, er, miraculous discovery that they had either grown really long hair and were covered in makeup, or their hair had turned pink and a moustache had appeared on their face."

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "Very miraculous indeed Miss Evans."

"Well, Professor Klump let them go to Madame Pomfrey to sort it out at the start of the Herbology lesson-"

"I don't quite see what the problem-"

"But he wouldn't let Remus go." Professor McGonagall's lips thinned and she closed her eyes, sighing heavily to herself. Lily paused, waiting for the teacher to re-open her eyes before continuing explaining what had been happening in the herbology. James in particular noted McGonagall flinch when Lily mentioned how Remus had had to handle the hellypickle flower without so much as a pair of gloves.

"Right," McGonagall breathed as Lily finished, angrily clasping her hands together in an aggravated fashion as she kept her voice determinedly calm, "I think it would be best for you to make your way to your next lesson, please inform Mr Lupin that he doesn't need to worry about the detentions or apparent lack of herbology equipment." Lily nodded before hurriedly turning around, James however stayed where he was.

"Professor, do we have to do our detentions?" James asked.

A brief smile formed on McGonagall's thin lips. "Yes Mr Potter, yourself and Miss Evans are still required to attend the detentions over the next three nights."

"But Professor-"

"No buts Mr Potter, you will serve your detentions. Now, if will excuse me I need to find the Headmaster and you need to be getting off to your next lessons." James sighed as he watched McGonagall sweep down the corridor before turning back to Lily. Despite being heavily disgruntled at the idea of wasting his evenings for the next three nights, James was also slightly relived that he was doing it with Lily, a girl who he not only he liked, but who seemed to no longer hate him.

"So Evans, looks like I'm going to be spending my first detention with you," he grinned, before jokingly adding, "Who knew that you were such a bad influence."

Lily gave a short, mischievous smile before turning on her heels and began to walk in the opposite direction.

"Come on Potter," She called out, red hair flickering behind her, "You heard the Professor, off to the next lesson."

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><p><strong>AN: I am so so so so so sorry for not uploading a real new chapter in about 2 weeks, and that even now I finally have it is so so short :( I honestly feel ashamed with myself :( I will try to not this go unupdated for so long again :( and if it does get to the point where I am so overloaded with work I can't update a full chapter I will make sure to post a teaser chapter inbetween just to let you know that I havn't given up. I break up from school tomorrow (YAY!) so hopefully that means that I should be able to update much quicker and also that I can start some work on some other things (mainly the prequel and possibly other marauder related stuff), so if you like my writing then please keep a look out for that :) As always thankyou for the reviews and sorry again that this chapter was so shortpointless/unexciting etc I promise that the next one will be a lot better :) I hope you are all having an amazing summer and sorry for ramberling :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Please Read 711/12 . chapter 26

Ok, this is the best story I have read do far. Please, I'm begging you, UPDATE.

_**thank you so so much :) I'm sorry for the pointless update but I will try to update again quickly :) (I'm normally a lot better than I have been) and also don't worry about me not reading the reviews, I can promise you now that I read every one religiously and repeatedly :) **_

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><p>Chousi 79/12 . chapter 26

Take your time its holidays ! :) Get out, have fun ! :)  
>We can wait, don't worry ! :)<p>

_**haha :) thanks , although technically its not the holidays for me yet :( but thankyou for being so understanding :)**_

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><p>Guest 75/12 . chapter 26

3 words:  
>please. write. more!<p>

_**I will! thank you :)**_

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><p>Potterhead1997 74/12 . chapter 26

just continue this where it leaves off

_**As simple as your advice sounded it was so so hard to follow :) haha :) but thank you, I managed it in the end :)**_

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><p>Blue Luver5000 74/12 . chapter 26

Oh no they in trouble! Update sooooon!

_**haha :) not really :) I guess I made the teaser chapter a little too dramatic :) ahah :)**_

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><p>Sorenson Carlisle 74/12 . chapter 26

Wow that was the nest non chapter ever :)

Every body has stuff to do sometimes.

Please write soon tho!

_**aww thankyou :D I am so sorry it took so long, but I will try to be quicker in future :)**_

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><p>Guest 72/12 . chapter 25

Hi :)

_**hey :)**_

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><p>Guest 630/12 . chapter 25

really liked it-I think maybe you could have made this chapter a bit lighter by making peter, james and sirius confused when they came in and not jumped into a big confrontation.

Toby

_**thank you so so much for this brilliant advice, if you ever feel like re-reading chapter 25 (don't worry, you don't have to and I'm not trying to make you) you will see that I've taken it and switched the chapter around slightly :) so thank you so so much as this review was genuinly so helpful :)**_

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><p>Sorenson Carlisle 629/12 . chapter 25

Yes of course you may use the idea at one time I thought about making a story like yours so I have loads of ideas and I might write a bit over the summer :)

Lily is such a boss and teaming with games nice great chapter wonder if they will even find dumbledore haha probly just go to magonagal*

Sorry for making you eat ice cream that is such a tragedy when I was always kidding keep writing! :)

_**thank you again :) and please just try and write a little bit as I would love to read it :) and haha yes she is :) and yeah, eating ice cream and relaxing is a truly awful thing for you to make me do :) ahah :)**_

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><p>potterhead1997 629/12 . chapter 25

One word PERFECT  
>(ok I lied)<br>FIRE KLUMP (thats his name right)

_**thankyou :) and haha :) I guess I should get round to doing that soon :)**_

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><p>Guest 629/12 . chapter 25

Amazing! I keep gaping at the amazement of the story xD

_**thank you so much :) you are so kind :)**_

Chousi 6/29/12 . chapter 25

Intersting chapter but i think you went a little bit too far.  
>I don't know how to explain my feelings to you but...<br>I think that Lily and James stand up for Remus is a great idea and it's realistic. But its too long. I mean, if my friend was in Remus's case, i will stand up for him but i would say a sentence or two not more.  
>Well i guess i'm more like Lily<br>James would, in my opinion, say what he said but i also have the feeeling that he was too far. Ok, i know, he's courageous. But i don't know.  
>Maybe if Sirius said some lines of James ?<br>Waw, i won't help you with this review i'm sorry ! '

But don't get me wrong, there's a lot of things which brings intersting things : the reactions of all the characters : the marauders, all the girls, the skytherin, and more intersting : Dumbledor's ! :)  
>It would be intersting (a lot of intersting, sorry my vocabulary is poor xD) to see a pov of the herbology teacher when he's being yell at by the director xD<br>I'm just saying... x)  
>But its YOUR story !<p>

Great job so far, its a very difficult thing to keep on with a long story like yours and you manage very well ! :D

_**hmm, I think I read this review about five times so thank you so much for leaving it as constructive critism is genuinly so helpful. I have actually gone back and rewritten the chapter based on this and another review so please feel free to check it out :) In my defence I really wanted to get Lily and James in a detention together so whilst Sirius saying some of James's lines was a brilliant idea, I didn't want to do it as yeah, I wanted the detention to be for just them :) but thank you so so much for being honest in your review as it is greatly appreciated and, as I've said before, it's the only way I'm going to get better :) Also I love the idea of a klump p.o.v. and if I can work it in then I will fully credit you for the idea :) also I love the irony of you saying how good I am at keeping going with a long story and then I don't udate for two weeks :) ahah :) but thank you again, genuinly this review was so helpful :)**_

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><p>Blue Luver5000 629/12 . chapter 25

Ok good I hate the herbology proffesser even more and I dont even hate herbology it would not be one of my best classes but it would not be my worst either! I thing you should have the herbology proffesser fired and professer sprout should be hired I love professer sprout! Update soooooooon!

_**hahha :) yeah, I can promise you that Sprout will take over soon (ish) :)**_

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><p>Dndchk 628/12 . chapter 25

Ahh! You need to write longer chapters!  
>Poor Remus- he's so used to being treated like a monster that he thinks he deserves all the crap that comes his way :( I think Lily would have quite a bit of temper, especially ifwhen people are being treated unfairly- look at the memory of Snape's in OotP.  
>Hope your test went well, and since I'm too lazy to just PM you, chapters 15 &amp; 16 are now up. I think there's something wrong with the alerts, because I got one a few days ago that was at least a week late.<br>Okay, I'll stop rambling. I hope you update soon, because I have a sixteen hour drive to look forward to on Monday and would like something GOOD to read :)

_**I know and I'm sorry as it never seems to happen :/ and I know, its sad and its stupid :( and thats more or less where I drew 'inspiration' from :) as yeah, despite coming across as quite timid in some fanfictions I think she would have been a ver fiery character when angry :) and thankyou so much, yeah I'm not really sure about alerts at the moment so thank you :) and I am so so sorry for not updating soon, I honestly tried but nothing 'came out'- so to speak :( I hope you found something else to read and I'm sorry, as I genuinly inteded for this to be a lovely long chapter for you to read last monday :( sorry :(**_


	25. The Attack

**IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE, PLEASE READ: hey! basically I had major writers block and just couldn't write the next chapter. After a few days of trying to write I realised that I couldn't because I felt like this (the chapter below) was missing, so yeah, this chapter is out of place (it happens right before the first detention) so I am very, very sorry for any confusion. anyway, plase read on... :)**

James had been aimlessly wandering the corridors for the last half hour. His detention wasn't for another three hours and, as Sirius and Peter were still in dinner (having what James could only assume were thirds) and Remus was cooped up, working in the Library (a place James detested and refused to enter), James had decided to waste his free time 'exploring' the school. It didn't take long for the boy to realise how trivial a task this was and quickly grow bored without someone to talk to. It felt weird to be by himself; he was almost lost without someone to interact with having been in constant company his whole life. Up to this point there had always been someone to talk to or someone to annoy at Hogwarts. And, despite being an only child, he never seemed to be alone at home either; the McKinnon's, other relatives and family friends often came round for anything ranging from a quick chat to a couple months stay. James sighed, sitting himself down on the cold stone floor of the corridor. He really should just go back and do his homework.

He shuddered automatically at the thought.

_He was considering doing Homework! Merlin he must be bored. _

James frowned, thinking he had heard a scuffled noise from down the corridor. He waited in silence, straining his ears for further sounds, hoping they would indicate that someone to play with was not far away. Suddenly a high pitch squeal cut through the silence, making the messy haired boy straighten, tensing in fear as his heart rate quickened in panic. The scream was abruptly silenced; in its place James could now hear other hushed voices talking quickly, their speech broken only with hollow laughter. Immediately James rose from where he sat, blood pounding in his ears and mind racing as he began to run down the corridor, sprinting in the direction that the shriek had come from. He only had to turn into the next corridor before seeing a young girl lying rigid on the floor. His heart dropped upon seeing the immobile body and, immediately fearing the worst, his eyes pricked with tears. He didn't however have time to dwell on this as four other pupils were also in the hallway, running in the opposite direction, away from James and their unmistakable crime. Acting instinctively, James thrust his hand into his pocket for his wand, pulling it out and pointing it instantly at the attackers.

"Oi!" James shouted after them. The boys didn't stop running, but two turned their heads at his voice.

"Snape?" James said, faltering slightly, momentarily lowering his wand as he recognised the young boys paled face. Snape looked at him, half in fear and half in manic, adrenaline filled glee before turning his head back and continuing to speed down the corridor. The other boy who had turned was also familiar but, apart from deducting that he was a Slytherin, James couldn't place him and the four had soon raced out of sight. Not even daring to waste a second, James immediately turned his attention to the body on the ground. She was a tall, gawky girl James thought he recognised from Charms and History of Magic, making her a first year Hufflepuff. Her round, thick glasses lay skewed across her face and her bushy hair had flared out behind her head, sprayed across the floor, indicating that she had fallen quickly. She looked at him, unable to move, eyes full of fear. James couldn't help but smile: the girl was alive. As relief flushed through him he felt immediately stupid for having thought otherwise. He shook his head, inwardly laughing at himself.

"Don't worry," he said softly, giving the girl a comforting smile, "I think they've just used a body binding curse or something, it'll wear off soon." The girl continued to look at him in utter terror, her face contorted in pain.

"You're going to be fine," James said. Despite believing this to be true, the boy couldn't help but have the unnerving sense that something was deeply wrong. "I'll stay here until it wears off, but I promise you will be…" His voice trailed off. James had bent down to be closer to the girl and, in doing so, had involuntarily but his hand in a thick, blue liquid that lay in a pool around her head.

"Merlin," he breathed, looking at her aghast. The liquid had already begun to soak itself into her hair and appeared to be coming out of her ears. James felt his stomach squirm as he continued to stare. He gulped, unsure of exactly what was happening.

"Are you in pain?" As soon as he said it, James knew it had been a stupid question. The girl not only had a blue fluid running from her ears, but was immobile and unable to talk.

"Ok," James said, still trying to recover from the initial shock. "Ok, um, if you look up and down for yes and across for no then we should be able to talk. Ok?" he added, unsure if the girl could hear him.

The Hufflepuff looked up and down.

"Great," James said, smiling again, trying to convince not only the girl, but himself, that everything was going to be alright. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

The girl looked left to right.

James raised his eyebrows to show just how much he doubted this. "You don't have to be brave for me, just be honest. Does it hurt a lot?"

Once again the girl looked from left to right.

"Does it hurt at all?"

The girl looked up and down, indicating that it did indeed hurt. James nodded, worry etched deep into his face.

"Do you want me to go and get help?"

The girl hurriedly looked left to right.

"Don't worry," James said quickly, "I won't leave if you don't want me to, but I need to get you some help- I can't carry you to Madame Pomfrey, and I don't trust myself enough to levitate you." James paused, wracking his brain for ideas. He knew it would be pointless to shout for help as most of the school was at dinner and those that weren't were unlikely to be wandering the corridors far from their common rooms. It was then that he saw the paining of an old 13th Centaury Wizard hanging on the wall opposite him. The old man was asleep in his chair, owl loyally perched by his side.

"Hello," James said loudly, leaving the girls side to approach the painting. "Excuse me, you really need to wake up."

The Wizard stirred, but refused to wake.

"HELLO!" James repeated, practically shouting at the painting, "I-NEED-YOUR-HELP!"

The owl hooted and the wizard opened one bleary eye, giving James a scornful look.

"I'm sorry for waking you," James said quickly, words tumbling out of his mouth in renewed panic, "But this girl has just been attacked, she can't move and I really need you to go and get some help!"

This wizard frowned slightly, looking quizzically at the immobile girl on the floor. "Are you sure that it isn't a simple jinx?" He said, a prominent drawl dictating the tone of his voice.

"Well, no, but there's a blue liquid coming out of her ears and-"

"Fine," the wizard interrupted. "I will go and get help." He stretched, giving a long sigh before casually strolling out of his painting.

"Please hurry!" James shouted, though he doubted the wizard could hear him.

It took an agonising fifteen minutes of waiting before help finally arrived in the form of a flustered Madame Pomfrey. The young Medi Witch immediately conjured a stretcher and levitated the girl onto it before sending it off to the hospital wing. She gave James a pained look.

"James Potter isn't it? You're Remus's friend?"

"Yes."

"Did you see what happened?" Madame Pomfrey began to make her way towards the hospital wing as she spoke, walking so quickly that James felt as if he was jogging to keep up.

"Briefly- I was in a nearby corridor when I heard a scream." James recounted the events of the previous twenty minutes, including recognising Severus's face.

"Are you one hundred percent sure that it was Severus?"

"I was at the time."

"But now?"

James frowned as self doubt began to wade into his mind. He was sure it had been Severus- he could recognise the greasy haired boy's hooked nose anywhere. But the boy had only turned round for a few seconds and they had both been running high on adrenaline and fear at the time. How could he have been so sure that it was a boy he had known for only two months?

"Ninety percent," he said finally. Madame Pomfrey nodded and continued to question him in a similar fashion until they reached the hospital wing and he was asked to wait outside. The wait was once again agonising; James felt as though each second drew out into a minute, and each minute into an hour. The reality however was that the wait was brief and James was soon called in to the hospital wing.

"Margo, this is James. He's the boy who rescued you," Madame Pomfrey said warmly, leading James over to where the Hufflepuff lay. Her face was still very pale and she was visibly weak.

"Thank you James," She said quietly, giving him a small smile.

"It's nothing," James said. "Are you ok now though?" Margo nodded and Madame Pomfrey began to explain to James what had happened. As he had originally suspected, The Hufflepuff's immobility had simply been caused by a body binding spell, one most first years could easily perform and thankfully something Madame Pomfrey could easily rectify. The blue substance that had poured from the young girls ears, however, was much more sinister. Whilst Madame Pomfrey had quickly fixed it and Margo had said it caused her no real pain, the hex had been dark. Madame Pomfrey admitted that whilst she had never encountered the particular spell before, it seemed to be a knock off of a curse that made the victims blood turn blue and slowly flood out of the body, draining them to the point of death. Margo's face paled further as she heard this.

"Don't worry Margo," Madame Pomfrey said quickly, "The substance that came from your ears was certainty not your blood. I'm not entirely what it was but, apart from being a little shaken, you are now in perfectly good health so you haven't lost anything important." Margo smiled weakly at this.

"The people who did this will still get expelled though, won't they?" James said quickly.

"Enforcing school rules is not my area James, but if it were up to me they would at the least be severally punished," Madame Pomfrey said before asking, in a gentler voice, "Do you know who did attack you though Margo?"

"No," the girl replied a little too quickly.

"James said he saw Severus Snape, was he one of the people who attacked you?"

"No," Margo repeated.

Madame Pomfrey narrowed her eyebrows. "If they have threatened you with anything then-"

"They haven't threatened me!" Margo said, again too quickly to be believed.

"Ok," Madame Pomfrey said, nodding, not wanting to distress the girl any further. "Now I need to go and do some paper work, is that Ok? Will you be ok with James here or do you want me to stay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"Good. Now, I have left a light sleeping draft on your bedside table," Madame Pomfrey indicated to where a hot mug was sitting, "Please feel free to take it if you wish- sleep is, I believe, the greatest heeler of all and will honestly make you feel so much better. You won't have to stay here long, just overnight so if there is any side effects we're unaware of we can deal with them." Madame Pomfrey gave Margo a warm smile, offering further words of reassurance before finally leaving to her office.

"Have they threatened you?" James asked as soon as Madame Pomfrey was out of earshot. Margo gave him a guilty look.

"I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to, I just want to know what happened."

"Yes," she said, still not daring to reveal the names.

"But why?"

"Because I'm a mudblood-"

"Don't use that word," James said quickly. "And no you're not: you are a muggleborn and your blood is just as clean as mine or theirs is." Margo gave him a small smile. "You're ok now though, aren't you?" James asked.

"Yes," she said, "But if you don't mind I'd really like to sleep so…" she gave him an apologetic look.

"Oh, ok, sorry," James said quickly.

"It's fine," Margo said, giving him a genuine smile. "And thank you." James nodded, returning the smile before making his way out of the Hospital wing and allowing the girl time to rest.


	26. The First Detention

Lily sat in the first of the three detentions scrubbing an old, gold encrusted cup as she listened to James moan about cleaning. They had been assigned to clean the trophy room, a task harder than it sounded when you considered not only the number of items to be polished, but the fact using magic to do so was prohibited. Whilst James's initial reaction to the various quidditch cups and plaques of honour was highly amusing and somewhat endearing (he treated each quidditch item as if it was some holy object to be respected and worshiped in equal measure), the original enthusiasm quickly wore off, leaving him disgruntled and, worst of all, bored.

"You know, before I came to this school I dreamt about having my name engraved on one of these things," he said, haplessly waving a quidditch shield containing names and positions of a past star team in front of Lily, "I actually _dreamt_ about it. And now I never want to see another one again, even if my name is on it." He said, dramatically sighing before placing the shield down and eying it longingly.

"You know, it would help if you actually cleaned it James," Lily remarked, putting the trophy she had been polishing back on its shelf before picking up an old and somewhat fragile medal dated from 1806.

"I know Lily," James sighed, unmoving, eyes permanently fixed on the quidditch shield, "but it's just so hard. I mean, I dreamt about this thing- _dreamt_ about it. And all it amounts to is some dirty, flimsy piece of wood-"

"I wouldn't exactly describe wood as 'flimsy'."

"-and tacky bits of silver in the shape of shields."

"Again, silver- tacky? Your use of adjectives is rather disconcerting James."

James playfully threw her an angry look, "Lily! You keep interrupting my dramatic monologue, making it much less dramatic, making it more into a monologue than a dramatic monologue, ruining it entirely."

Lily laughed, rolling her eyes as James rambled on, complaining further about the idea of cleaning.

"I mean, really, why should we clean? That's what house elves are for, and if a wizard really had to clean something then all he would have to do is wave his wand and, boom! Everything would be sorted-"

"House elves?" asked Lily, creasing her brow in confusion as she cut through James's rant.

"Yeah, you know, house elves."

Lily continued to look at James confused. "Well I obviously don't."

"Little creatures with big, pointy ears and big eyes that help out around the house? I know not every wizarding family has them but how don't you know what they are, I thought every witch or wizard did?"

"Well, my parents aren't witches or wizards so I don't." Lily said slightly defensively, hands crossed over her chest.

"Wow, I knew something that Lily Evans didn't" James said smugly.

"Yeah, don't get used to it," She laughed, "Colin Jackson leant me a book called 'Hogwarts, a History' and it's got everything in it, so I will quickly catch you up."

"Yeah, that sounds really interesting," James said sarcastically, remembering the brick of the book he often saw on Colin's bedside table.

"It is," Lily said insistently, "really you should read it James, I liked it so much that I ordered my own copy- you could borrow it if you like."

James had no intention on even attempting to read the large book, but there was something about the way Lily looked at him with her deep, green eyes (or, indeed, just something about Lily) that instead made him instead say, "I would love to," without even a hint of sarcasm, causing a smile to spread across the young witches face.

"I promise you will love it," she said, hurriedly diving into her bag before extracting the large, bound book with the words 'Hogwarts, a History' etched on the cover in gold, italic writing.

"You carry this around with you?" James asked as he took the heavy book, buckling under the weight before dropping it into his own bag. Lily blushed.

"I like reading."

James raised his eyebrows but said nothing, turning instead to the previously abandoned quidditch shield and, for the first time that evening, contemplated polishing it. He took out the cloth and began to wipe it slowly across the little silver shields bearing past players names.

"Lily?"

"Yes James."

"What is actually going to stop us using magic to clean everything?"

Lily looked up, "Well, I guess nothing apart from the fact that we haven't been taught the spell yet. I think for the older students Filch would keep watch or a spell would be cast to stop other spells being used or something, but I don't imagine that that would be in place all of the time, it would be too impractical," She mused, "if you want we could check 'Hogwarts, a History', I'm sure it would say somewhere in there."

"No, no it's fine," James said, a small smile flickering over his face as he returned to scrubbing the quidditch shield.

"Why did you ask?" Lily said suspiciously, noting the change in James's demeanour.

"Nothing, nothing," he said in a sing song voice, giving Lily a teasing smile, "it's just, well, Remus might have taught me the cleaning spell."

"James, that cheating!"

"Cheating? I don't think it quite comes under that category. Besides, it's not like we should even really be here, we were just sticking up for Remus, we don't deserve this."

Lily sighed, a conflicted expression cast across her face.

"Come on Lily," James whined, "we won't do it all now, just each item individually so it will still take some effort and we will still have to stay here so we're still giving up our time."

"Fine," Lily sighed, defeated. James gave her a broad grin before taking his wand out of his robes and pointing it towards the quidditch shield,

"Scourgify," he whispered, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Both first years beamed as the previously dirty shield that had been covered in fingerprints was rendered clean, giving off a spotless shine.

"Perfect," James said, standing back to admire his handiwork before beginning to sort through the other items, cleaning them in a similar fashion. He was just over a quarter of the way through when Lily stopped him, saying it would be too suspicious if they cleaned too much on the first detention.

"Ooh get you, Lily Evans, mastermind on how to break rules and not get caught," James laughed, but stopped cleaning never the less, sitting himself down on the floor opposite Lily. "So, we have got thirty minutes to kill" he said, checking his watch with a sigh.

"Hey, I'm not that bad company," Lily laughed, giving James a playful shove.

"No, you're not," He agreed, causing Lily to blush a shade of light pink and her lips to curve into a small smile.

"So…" she said, awkwardly looking around the room.

"So..." James repeated, leaving another awkward silence.

"I guess I really am bad company."

"No, you're not, you're very interesting, I keep finding new things out about you."

"Like what?" Lily asked, raising her eyebrows suspiciously.

"Well, today I have learnt that you are a muggleborn and that you like to read books." James said, almost proud of having extracted this level of information from the young redhead.

Lily laughed, "I thought that was already obvious."

"Nope, not to me anyway. I mean, unless I'm missing the book constantly clutched in your hand, to the point it seems attached to you, or a giant, neon sign flashing 'muggleborn' on your forehead, how would it be obvious?" James asked bemused, remembering something his older cousin had said about witches expecting you to be a mind reader.

"Well, I am able to answer most of the questions asked in class, suggesting I read a lot, yet don't know basic things about wizarding society, suggesting I'm muggle born. I mean, only this morning I discovered that there is a Ministry of Magic."

"That means nothing," James said quickly, "I'm a pureblood and, until five seconds ago, I thought that the Ministry of Magic was an up and coming indie rock band, and I don't read despite the fact that I could easily answer any question in class."

"Arrogant much?" Lily asked lightly.

"Seriously though Lily, although I could kind of guess the bookworm thing, I would never have thought you were muggleborn, especially considering you sat with Snape on the train journey here." James said, not noticing the slight change in the way Lily looked at him.

"And what would Severus and I being friends have to do with me being a muggleborn?" She asked voice higher than it had been previously during the conversation.

"Well he's a Slytherin."

"So what?" Lily asked, arms crossed across her chest defensively.

"What do you mean 'so what'? I know your muggleborn and all but everyone knows what Slytherins are like. They are ambitious, proud idiots who value blood 'purity' above all else. And, no offence as it matters in no way shape or form to an ordinary, normal person, but they don't think your blood type is exactly the 'cleanest'." James spat, disgusted at even voicing this.

"Just because a few are like that doesn't mean everyone is, you shouldn't generalise people Potter."

James flinched at the reuse of his surname, bitterly retorting "actually, in the case of the Slytherins it more or less does."

"Please," Lily said, "not all Slytherins believe in blood purity or whatever you called it, just the same way that all Gryffindors aren't brave."

"Don't talk about Gryffindor like that," James said, aghast at the blasphemous words Lily had uttered.

"Well it's true," Lily said simply, trying to regain control of her voice, "Not all Gryffindors are brave."

"Yes they are!" James argued, his hazel eyes flashing dangerously in a way that mirrored Lily's green ones.

"Really? So if an evil dark wizard was to burst into this room would you honestly try and fight them, bearing in mind that you are only in first year?" She asked patronisingly.

"Yes, I would stay and fight them," James responded without as much as a hesitation.

Lily snorted, "Don't be silly Potter, you wouldn't stand a chance, if it were to _actually _happen you would run and hide and do the sensible thing."

"No I wouldn't, I would do the brave, noble and Gryffindor thing of staying to fight."

"Well that's stupid."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is." Lily retorted, hand on her hip.

"I know I would probably end up dead, but if any average adult wizard was facing a truly powerful dark one then their knowledge of magic would be about as much use as mine, i.e. not a lot."

"So, that doesn't mean that you should stay and fight anymore than they should." Lily said as she angrily flicked a strand of red hair over her shoulder, caught up in the petty argument, "what would be the point in that, they would kill you immediately?"

"Yes, but it would give you enough time to run away." James said, blushing slightly, hastily adding, "So you could then go and alert the rest of the school."

Lily, caught off guard by the sweetness in what James had just said, especially considering the fact that they were in the middle of a raging argument, opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish before finally managing to say, "Well, you wouldn't actually do that."

"Yes I would," James said firmly, "because I'm a Gryffindor."Lily rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Look Lily, I promise you that if at any point in time an evil, dark wizard enters the room I will run in front of you and fight them- if you really want I would be perfectly happy to make an unbreakable vow with you right now," James said earnestly. Lily looked at him in silence for a moment, studying the dark haired boys hazel eyes, not sure whether to take him seriously or not.

"Don't be silly James," she said quietly, "and even if you would it wouldn't be because you're a Gryffindor, it would be because you're, well, you." She gave him a small smile.

"Same thing Lily; we're in Gryffindor because of who we are. The same way Snape is in Slytherin because of who he is."

"Severus is not a bad person." Lily said, a stiffness re-entering her voice.

"I never _said_ that," James responded, implying that, despite never having actually voiced it, this was indeed what he thought, "I simply said I was surprised that he was friends with a- with you." James said, stumbling over his words in embarrassment.

"You know what Potter, you're the only person who seems to have a problem with me being a muggleborn, are you sure that you yourself aren't a blood purist."

"What?!" James yelped, "no, Lily, not at all. I would never, ever,_ ever_ think like that."

"Then why are you saying I can't be friends with someone because of my lack of magical ancestors?" Lily asked, eyebrows arched high above their normal position in a looked that mimicked McGonagall's fiercest.

"Lily, that wasn't what I was saying," James squirmed, "I was simply saying that Snape holds those views and therefore I was surprised he would be friends with you."

"Severus does not hold those views." Lily said firmly.

James looked at her pityingly before slowly saying, in a kind, calm voice, "Lily, as much as you want to believe that, it's not true, just a few hours ago I saw him-"

"Severus does not hold those views." Lily repeated, cutting James off quickly.

"Lily, just listen to me-" but James was interrupted again, this time however by Argus Filch, the caretaker, opening the door, causing the trophy room to go unbearably quiet as Lily and James froze, mid argument.

"You're free to go." He sniffed before exiting immediately, mumbling something about how if he had his way he would string them up by their toenails overnight.

"Lily," James continued, but the girl immediately gathered up her things and stormed out of the room without so much as a 'goodbye Potter'.

James cursed himself for even bringing up the subject, but he _was_ right. The image of Margo's immobile body was still fresh in his mind and, whilst the girl was now perfectly alright, what Snape and the others had done, simply because she was muggleborn, was still just as disgusting. And the fact that Lily was accusing him of harbouring similar views… The idea made him sick. Whilst he wasn't planning on apologising for what he had said about that slimy Slytherin friend of hers - he had, after all, been right - he thought he should at least make it clear that he had no prejudices against muggleborns or half bloods. He quickly exited the trophy room and hurried towards the Gryffindor common room, hoping to find the small red head and make it up to her.

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><p><strong>AN: not a brilliant chapter I know.. sorry about that : I've kind of only just realised that not bothering planning anything in advance might not be a good idea and might lead to this story becoming boring (be honest, is this story becoming a bit boring?) so yeah, sorry again :/ I will try and think of an actual plot, but for now this story is just going where it wants to (something I'm not quite sure is a good idea as I'm on chapter 27 and I think they're still only in the first few weeks of school) also I'm worried that I'm leaving loads of loose ends all over the place as technically everything in their dormitory is still glued to the ceiling (again, despite the number of chapters in between that happening and this happening it is actually still the same day) so yeah, I think this story might be falling apart :/ but never fear as I am going to do my best to continue with it and I'm hoping that this is just a phase of self doubt opposed to the reality that my story dosn't work. What I might have to do is go through and eddit it and combine loads of chapters together, but then that would mean that you won't be able to leave any signed reviews until I get back up to this number of chapters, something I don't want to happen as your encouragement and advice is invaluably helpful (I'm not just saying that, I honestly mean it and don't think that this story would have ever reached this point without you lovely, lovely (and undoubtedly sexy) people). So yeah, I'm in a bit of a muddle :/ sorry :/ if you have any advice on how to make this chapter/story better then please leave it, no matter how harsh it sounds (if you're worried about me then judging your storys/calling you a hypocrite/hunting you down and brutally murdering you (none of which I will do) just leave an anonymous review) thank you so so much for reading my story, and a special thankyou to you if you review, favourite or add it to your alerts as it means so so much :)**

**sorry for being slightly negative**

**~millie-mae :)**

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><p>Princess Juliet Rose 716/12 . chapter 26

Hi I Love this story! It appears you have posted chapter 26 twice. :) Great story, Keep up the fantastic work!

**thank you so so much :) and also thank you for telling me that, although I've checked and don't think I have? is there still two chapters for chapter 26 up for you? If there is please tell me and I will try and sort it out (although I'm not sure how I would go about doing that as I can't see two versions- any suggestions?) :) thanks again :)**

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><p>Anon 712/12 . chapter 11

I thought this was canon? Remus has a brother...?

Anyways, I'm a bit confused, but I still enjoy reading this. /reads on

_**yeahh... ok, basically it is more or less canon, however I'm not sticking to it ridgedly so whilst JKR has never said Remus has a brother, she also hasn't (as far as I'm aware) ever made it clear that he's an only child so I'm yeah, just jumping in and going with it :/ sorry, I know it's not strictly cannon but it more or less will be :) sorry for the confustion :S**_

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><p>Bayba 712/12 . chapter 26

Great story! Please continue (:

_**thankyou! and I will :)**_

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><p>Guest 711/12 . chapter 26

TrolOlolololol

**_:)_**

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><p>Guest 711/12 . chapter 26

I hope that Cruel, Unfair Herbology teacher gets what he deserves!  
>He is worse than Snape and maybe even Umbridge (I don't remember how to spell her name)!<br>LOL, another great chapter and I can't wait for more :)  
>Always on the lookout for your next update!<p>

ukie-girl

**_pahah :) thanks I guess and yeah that's how you spell it :) and thank you so so much :) your reviews mean a lot to me :)_**

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><p>Dndchk 711/12 . chapter 26

YES! YOU UPDATED!  
>Short chapter, but still lovers it! Fire Klumpp and get sprout!<br>Chapter 19 is up, btw.  
>May your plot bunnies flourish!<p>

**_yeah :) haha :P and thank you :) but yeah, the plot bunnies seem rather non existant at the moment :S_**


	27. Hidden Secrets

**UPDATE:**** basically this is an updated version of the chapter, not an accidental repost :) if you read it earlier today or when I put it up originally (yestersday) don't bother re-reading the whole thing, the changes won't be that noticible, just scroll down to where Colin comes in as I have added a lot to that :) (I was unhappy with the ending) :) thank you for putting up with me and my ever changing story ~millie-mae**

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><p>By the time James entered the Gryffindor Common room Lily was nowhere in sight so, passing a group of studious fifth years, he made his way straight up to the dormitory. Whilst he had been at detention Sirius had sweet talked the girls into rectifying their bedroom (something they had justified doing by the fact that James hadn't ratted them out earlier to either Klump or McGonagall), ungluing all their items from the ceiling and repositioning them on the floor whilst Peter and Remus had spoken to the second year Gryffindors, persuading them into lending shampoo and soap.<p>

"James!" Sirius said as James entered the notably tidier bedroom, "What do you think of our hard work?"

"Did you clean this place?" James asked aghast, wrinkling his nose slightly at the perfumed smell.

"Nope," Sirius said smugly, "the girls did." James nodded before dumping his bag down and slumping himself against his bed.

"You alright mate?" Sirius asked.

"Had a fight with Lily," James muttered, half-heartedly fiddling with a corner of the sheet. Sirius sighed as Remus looked up.

"Again?"

"Yep."

"Well its nothing new Jamesie," Sirius said awkwardly, "I mean, you fight all the time, remember you've only really been friends for about half of today."

"I know," James sighed, "but being friends with her was so good, I really like her and-"

"You_ like _her?" Sirius repeated, eagerly looking between Peter and Remus to see if they understood what he was implying. They didn't, each looking with quizzical expressions towards Sirius.

"Yeah?" James replied, unsure of what this meant.

"I mean, do you _like _her like her, or just like her?" Sirius said, wiggling his eyebrows as the others continued to look on confused.

"Did anyone else not understand that or was it just me?" Peter asked.

"Nope, I didn't understand a word of it," James said, looking at Sirius with mild concern.

"What I mean," Sirius said, practically bouncing on his bed with excitement, "Is does Jamesie here _fancy_ Miss Lily Evans?" James went pink as the others collectively 'ohh'ed. All three boys turned to look at James.

"No!" he said quickly, turning a deeper shade of red, "I don't fancy Lily Evans!"

"Then why are you so red?" Sirius asked, "I think you like her."

"I don't!" James repeated, quickly looking round the room for some form of distraction. His eyes fell on a book peaking out of the top of his school bag,

"Did I tell you about this really cool book I got today?" he said, quickly removing it from the bag and holding it out for Sirius to see, recognising it immediately as the one Lily had lent him.

"Cool? Book? Can those two words exist in the same sentence?" Sirius asked.

"Yes," Remus said firmly, "Yes they can."

The dark haired boy gave a small chuckle before sharing a sceptical look with Peter and turning back to James, "I'm not stupid you know, I know you're just trying to distract us from your undying love for Lily Evans."

"No, this is genuinely an interesting book,"

"Well hows about you and Remus go read your 'interesting', 'cool' book whilst myself and Peter, the real men of this dormitory, plot pranks."

"Fine."

"Fine," Sirius agreed, plopping himself down on a bed next to Peter who looked up with an evil smile, "So, how long before James admits he hates reading?" He whispered, causing Sirius to bark a laugh.

"Five minutes, you?"

"I think he will keep up the pretence a little longer than that, I'd say ten minutes," He responded confidently before drawing his hand into his pocket and extracting a sickle, "Fancy placing your money where your mouth is?" Sirius smiled, retrieving his own coin and placing it on the bedside table next to Peter's.

"Of course." The pair looked slyly up towards James and Remus.

"What?"

"Nothing," Sirius said with a small chuckle, sending him a series of furtive glances. These however went unnoticed as James was concentrating too hard on trying to read the book. As the minutes slowly ticked by this became harder and harder, until the point where James found that he was simply looking at each picture in immense detail until Remus flicked over the page. It took five minutes before he decided he might as well give up for fear of being bored to death. However, before he had a chance to apologize to Remus and put the book down, Sirius spoke.

"Why don't you just give up Jamesie, it's obvious that you're not interested."

"Yes I am," he said immediately.

"He's enjoying reading it Sirius, let him continue for, oh, I don't know, another five minutes," Peter said with a grin.

"Are you really enjoying reading it?" Sirius asked sceptically.

"Yep," James said through clenched teeth, trying hard to keep the sarcasm from his voice, "It's really good."

"Well then Jamesie why don't you read us all an extract of this highly enthralling book of yours?"

"Ok," James said, eyes hurriedly scanning the page for something even vaguely interesting to read, "urmm… ok, one sec."

"We're waiting," Sirius said impatiently as James continued to frantically scan the page. "Merlin James, just read anything."

"I'm just trying to find the best- Hey!" James yelped as Sirius grabbed the book out of his hands and began flicking through the pages.

"You were too slow," he explained in a not even remotely apologetically voice, before finally finding a page and, giving a short cough, began reading in his best 'reader's voice'.

"_'The castle itself was built in 993AD by Augustus Clorin, a celebrated wizarding architect of the time, alongside the four founders: Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff. Each founder notably designed what were to become their own houses common rooms as well as many other aspects of the school, such as the ever changing floor plan devised by Rowena Ravenclaw. It is worth noting that throughout the early middle ages the castle was continuously altered by each founder. Whilst many alterations are common knowledge, such as the anti-disappirition jinx cast upon the castle in 995AD, it is also rumoured that each founder created hidden rooms and passages within the castle. It is suggested by some wizarding historians that the introduction of the anit-disappirition jinx was the original cause of this as the founders could no longer freely apparate around or out of the castle, meaning they had to rely on other means. Others however argue that the break down in unity between the four created a need for privacy and secrecy, thus'- _Merlin, this is boring,_" _Sirius said, interrupting himself, "really James, how have you lasted reading it this long?"

"Because it is actually very interesting?" Remus suggested.

"Yeah right," Sirius snorted before turning back to James, "Honestly mate, how have you lasted this long?"

"I don't know," James sighed, "I guess you're right Sirius, this is the most boring book in the world."

"I didn't quite go that far," Sirius said, "I mean, have you tried reading twilight?"

"Twilight?" Every boys face turned to Sirius's,

"Forget it," he muttered.

"Guys," Peter said uncertainly, nervously taking the book out of Sirius's hands and closely examining it, "You do realise that this says there are secret rooms and passages all over Hogwarts?"

"Well yes, I did just read-" Sirius stopped abruptly, eyes widening. Quickly he grabbed the book off Peter and began hurriedly scanning the page.

"What's the big deal," James said, sighing lazily and leaning back against the post of the bed, "There are loads of shortcuts all over school that everyone already knows about and the secret rooms aren't exactly that secret either. Even if they've never found one most students know of them, this isn't anything new."

"Yes it is," Remus said quickly, "because the book isn't just talking about short cuts or secret rooms, it's talking about secret passages that take you _out_ of the castle."

"No it didn't," James said uncertainly, looking towards Sirius for reassurance.

"Actually mate, if you read in-between the lines a bit, it did. It said: '_the founders could no longer freely apparate around or out of the castle, meaning they had to rely on other means-"_

"Which," Remus interrupted, "doesn't really make sense as you _can_ apparate outside of Hogwarts, implying that the writer meant the founders could no longer apparate from within Hogwarts to somewhere outside of Hogwarts, and, as it also says '_they had to rely on other means'-"_

"They must have built passages within Hogwarts to take them to places outside the castle," James finished excitedly, looking quickly between Remus, Sirius and Peter, "this is new, isn't it? I mean, most people don't know about this do they?"

"Well I haven't ever heard of a passage leading _outside_ of the castle before," Sirius said.

"But where would the passages lead to?" Peter asked.

"Hogsmeade," James said confidently. Remus froze, realising for the first time that the secret his friends were uncovering hit far too close to home.

"To be honest I think we're all just reading way too much into what is probably just a typo," he said quickly.

"What?" Sirius asked, surprised.

"Well, Hogsmeade is a fairly modern wizarding village; there is no way it was here whilst the founders were still alive so there is no reason for them to have built any kind of secret passage," He said in what he hopped was a persuasive tone.

"Actually Remus, for once you are wrong," Sirius said smugly, turning back a few pages of the book before reading, "'_Hogsmeade, the only all-wizarding village in Britain, was founded in 990AD by Hengist of Woodcroft. Whilst most of the village has been rebuilt over the last thousand years some of the original architecture still remains.' _See! And if _'some of the original architecture still remains' _then the passages they built then could still work now! In fact I'm fairly sure I read somewhere here that the Hogs Head Inn is one of the oldest in Scotland, which would mean…" Sirius's voice trailed off as he continued to flick through the pages.

"I've never seen him so interested in a book," James said. Remus smiled lightly, too worried to really listen to what James was saying. If they began to look for secret passages he dreaded to think what would happen if Peter, James and Sirius found his. Students had already begun to play around the Whomping Willow, daring each other to get as near to it as possible. Remus was scared that soon they would get too close and realise that simply pressing down on the knot of roots immobilised the tree, he knew James at least would find this suspicious and want to investigate more. And what would happen if, with their new found interest in Hogsmeade, they heard about the noises that came from his shack each full moon? Remus had only transformed there once but already there had been talk of evil spirits amongst the older students. How long would it take for one of the boys to overhear this too? And then, Remus thought nervously, how long would it take before they connected the howls and shrieks that came from the shack with Remus's monthly disappearances? The young werewolf didn't want to find out.

"Yep, I'm right," Sirius said triumphantly, interrupting Remus's thoughts, oblivious to the boy's nervous discomfort, "The Hogs Head was set up in 1105AD, but the building itself was built at the same time as Hogsmeade. The only other buildings that haven't been altered are…" He quickly scanned the page, "Madame Puddifoot's tea shop, Honeydukes, Dervish & Banges and a few of the houses."

"So there are secret passages to all of them hidden within the school?" Peter asked, wide eyed.

"Not necessarily," James said, "and there might be other passages that used to lead to other shops that we might still be able to use them to get into Hogsmeade." Peter nodded, opening his mouth to speak when Colin burst through the door.

"Colin?" James and Sirius said in unison.

The blonde boy flushed pink. "Why are you still up, don't you know how late it is?" he asked in a demeaning voice.

"Urm Colin, no offence mate, but at least we were in our dorm, where have you been?" James said, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"That is none of your business," He said haughtily, making his way over to the wardrobe to get his pyjamas, "besides, you have probably been plotting some evil little scheme where as I have been a consistently rule abiding pupil. I think I have earned the right to-" Sirius rolled his eyes as James yawned, tired of the boys constant self flattery.

"There is no need to behave like that!" Colin said loudly, frowning at Sirius, flicking his long, blonde hair as he did so.

"Colin," Sirius said suddenly, noticing a smudge of pink of the boy's left cheek, "What's that?"

"Nothing," he said quickly, flushing a deeper shade of red as he hurriedly drew his hand up to his face to rub off the pink smear.

"Colin-"

"It's none of your business." The blonde boy snapped as he turned away and began to change into his pyjamas.

"But Colin, have you, have you…" Sirius said stunned, not quite able to say the last word.

"Have you been _kissing_?" James finished, scrunching up his face in disgust.

"Well, if I have then that is none of your business."

"Did you kiss a girl!?" James asked, sharing a revolted look with Sirius who proceeded to stick out his tongue out and pretend to be sick.

"I repeat, that is none of your business and it is not information that I wish to disclose at the-"

"Merlin, he did!" Sirius said loudly, "Colin kissed a girl!"

"That is so gay Colin," James added in a serious voice.

"I don't think being gay _quite_ works like that," Remus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his friend's overreaction. However, as childish as he found it, he was secretly glad that James and Sirius had responded in such a way as it meant that they had completely forgotten (for the time being at least) about the book and the secret passages leading outside of Hogwarts. Despite the amount of rules it meant breaking, Remus was admittedly interested in finding a way to get to Hogsmeade. However, regardless of this, he didn't want the discovery of a secret passage to mean his friends discovery of his secret. So, whilst James and Sirius paraded around the bedroom trying to extract information from an embarrassed Colin, Remus took his chance and grabbed the book from Sirius's bed, stashing it beneath his pillow. He thought for a moment he saw Peter watching him out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to face the slightly pudgy boy he found that he was too busy watching James and Sirius to have been paying attention.

"Look, at least give us her initials," Sirius said, pointing his wand threateningly towards Colin, "or I will poke you!"

"No, I'm sorry but a gentleman never tells, and as I am quite obviously a gentleman-"

"Gentleman obviously meaning arrogant prick then," Remus heard James mutter under his breath.

"-I'm not going to say a word."

"But we're not asking you to say a word," Sirius said quickly, "we're only asking for a few letters, namely the ones to that begin this girl's first and last name."

"No."

"How's about we turn that into a yes?"

"No."

"Or perhaps yes?

"No."

"Do you want me to poke you?"

Colin looked cautiously at the wand Sirius was brandishing threateningly as though it was some sort of sword, unable to tell whether or not he was joking.

"Fine," Colin relented, giving a dramatic sigh, "Her initials are M.M."

James's face fell. "You kissed my cousin?" he asked quietly, tightening his fists, "You can't kiss her, do you know how old she is?" he said, anger raging in every syllable he spoke, "She's barely just turned eleven! She shouldn't be snogging anyone!"

"No!" Colin said quickly, defensively raising his hands in front of his face, scared James would lash out, "It wasn't her and besides," he added, confidence and arrogance returning, "it wasn't a 'snog', as you have so tastelessly described it, it was simply an innocent peck on the cheek."

Sirius sighed, placing a hand comfortingly on James's shoulder, "hold your horses mate, Colin's right, there is more than one girl in our year with the initials M.M."

James snapped his head towards Sirius, "Who?"

"Well besides Marlene in Gryffindor alone there's Martie McClowers and Mary Macdonald. To be honest I'm not sure about the other houses, but I think that there is a Margo in Hufflepuff who has a surname beginning with M."

"What the girl with frizzy hair and really thick rimmed glasses?" Peter asked.

"Yeah."

"Her last names Lucha. I think the only girls with the initials M.M. are the three in Gryffindor."

Sirius gave Peter an odd look, curious to how he knew so much about the girl. James however, still dealing with the idea that his younger cousin could have kissed someone, hadn't noticed.

"Right, well which girl is it?" he said calmly.

"I have already told you, I'm not saying anything."

"Can you at least promise me that it wasn't my cousin?" James asked, frustrated.

"Yes."

"Good."

"Now if you don't mind I would quite like to get some sleep so please can you turn out the lights."

"The world doesn't revolve around you, you know," Sirius said, eyeing the blonde boy angrily.

"Peter, please get the lights," Colin repeated. Peter stood up.

"No, Pete, it's fine, I'll do it," Sirius said quickly, throwing Colin yet another angry look.

"Well night then chaps," Colin said.

"Night."

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><p><strong>AN: ok, i've just finished this and I know I should proof read it but hey ho, I can do that and edit this later :) I'm not sure if this chapter worked out as I meant it to? what did you think? is it too much 'reading in between the lines' or would it be too obvious etc? also the ending isn't brilliant and for that I am sorry :( also the twilight joke- should I cut it out? I'm guessing that a few people who read this will also like twilight so I'm sorry if your one of those people, I hope your not too offended :) urm I'm not sure what else to say, It's really late so I don't have time to reply to all the reviews , I promise I will add them on later :) but please don't think I think that they are unimportant or anything because they make me so so happy and are so so helpful :) actually can I just say a massive thankyou to FANG for reviewing every single chapter :D it made my day and it's really cool to see someones brief thoughts after every chapter all in one go (if that makes sense) but also thankyou to everyone, because it is your continued support and constructive critisim that makes this story :) I know when you review there's a little message that says something along the lines of 'the author would like to thank you for your continued support', well I know it's automated and everything but please know that I genuinely mean it :) thank you :D<strong>

**~millie-mae**

**UPDATE: I have obviously now replied to the reviews :) (thankyou again for giving them) :) so here they are:**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 27

you need to write more ! please update soon ! I am begging you !

**_aw thankyou so so much for writing all of these reviews :) and don't worry, I will :)_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 26

I love how you write Lily and James!

**_thankyou!_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 25

Perfect! fire Klump!

**_haha :) you're not the only one who thinks I need to do that :)_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 24

aww peters so cute :)

_**yeah.. until he goes and betrays everyone :( but yeah, I want to kind of expand on the reasons JK Rowling (aka god) gave him for betraying everyone throughout the story :) **_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 23

this has to be one of the best fanfictions ever! and I love the OC's so far!

**_thank you so so much :D_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 22

OH MY GOD! BEST PRANK EVER!

**_thankyou!_**

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><p>Fang 717/12 . chapter 21

LOVE IT!

**_I'm loving all these reviews! :)_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 20

nice :) I like this Allie person, please write more about her :)

_**haha :) will do : ) I've planned out her back story so I promise she will become a more prominant character :)**_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 19

LOVE the girls and would love you to write more about them, they seem like intersting OC's, please don't let there be any mary-sues!

_**thank you so much :) and yeah, tell me the moment any of them start turning into mary-sues :)**_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 18

oh I like this version of Lily! :) Much more like I invisioned her than most boring fanfictions where she is a stuck up bitch and James fancies her for no reason :)

_**aha :) I odly know what you mean :) (about the fanfictions where James just seems to like her for no reason)**_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 17

:O whats going to happen! :O

**_aha :) I would tell you, but I'm guessing you already know by now :)_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 16

this was too perfect, actually its my fav chapter yet.

_**aww thankyou, I think that chapter 16 is the chapter I worked hardest on so that means a lot:)**_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 15

brilliant interaction between a young Lily and James! so perfect!

**aw thankyou :)**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 14

LOVED this lovely long chapter :D

_**thanks :)**_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 13

:O

_**:)**_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 12

ooh! so exited to find out what his idea is

_**:)**_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 11

your story is so fucking amazing!

_**as are your reviews :)**_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 10

! I'm suprised James didn't stay and listen, i know I would! ahha!

_**haha :) same :)**_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 9

aw! James is such a cutie

**_yeah :)_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 8

it wasn't at all cliche, dont worry, I loved it

**_thankyou :)_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 7

LOVED IT!

**_well I love your reviews :D_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 6

ooh Mary Macdonald! does Remus like her?

**_nah, he just felt a bit nervous, especially as she is a girl :)_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 5

loved it! oh and I hate Colin.. the dick.

**_pahah :) yeah.. _**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 4

ooh! can't wait to find out what happens next!

_**:)**_

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 3

loved the sorting!

**_thankyou_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 2

brilliant! I love how you did the boat journey and the fact they are the first students ever to loose house points is perfect :D

**_thank you so so much :D_**

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><p>FANG 717/12 . chapter 1

I'm so so happy to finally find a story that starts from the begining :D You have already captured their characters perfectly and I can't wait to read more :)

**_aww thank you for reviewing every single chapter, you are just too kind :)_**

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><p>lucy 717/12 . chapter 27

so so so sorry for not reviewing in a while, I have been on holiday :) however I have finally caught up and WOW your story is just so so incredible I love it :) and don't worry about it still only being the first few weeks, it is amazing and I am loving reading it. Also I love the way that Lily and James are friends (ish) to begin with, I really look forward to seeing how their relationship develops (i know we all know that they get together, but I mean how you create the relationship and the highs and lows of it, if that makes sence) :)

**_don't worry at all :) and I hope your holiday was good :) aw thank you so so much :D and I hope it will live up to your expectations :)_**

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><p>Sorenson Carlisle 716/12 . chapter 27

Nice chapter

It's pretty funny how it's still the same day hope every day is like that hahaha jk

So it turns out I can't just type up the story on my iPod so it shall take longer for me to start a story as I would like to plan it out a bit more maybe the plot will be Peter getting lost hahaha (that was kinda a good idea think I might actualy do that)

Keep writing and have fun!

**_thankyou :D and yeh hahah :) I think there first year would be longer than the entire harry potter series put together if I did that :) and do that! seriously, I would love to read it :D (also, this might not work, but if you don't have access to a computer at home you could go to a library to use one to write it up, you wouldn't have to worry about saving it either as you can save it to this site) :) but that sounds really cool :0 and don't worry I am definatly going to keep writing (unless I get hit by a bus of course) and I am having fun (tbh I don't think I would have lasted this long if I wasn't) :)_**

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><p>Bayba 716/12 . chapter 27

I can't wait for the next chapter! Are you planning to have a future chapter where they go home for Christmas? I would love to see how Lily's sister acts towards her. I can't wait for Remus's friends to find out he's a werewolf. I think Animagus are some of my favorite creations of J.K Rowling.

_**thankyou :) and yes :) when I eventually get around to christmas I am definatly going to write one (although some of the characters may stay at hogwarts- I'm not sure which ones yet) but yeah :) I am hoping to eventually getting round to writing a prequal as well so that will include a bit of Lily and Petunia's relationship :) and yeah, neither can I :D and same, I really really like them :)**_

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><p>Dndchk 716/12 . chapter 27

I just burst into tears at the part where James said he'd give Lily time to get away- if only they knew! *sobs* so sad!  
>Bah, who cares about pacing? I'm addicted to this, even though my style of pacing is different. My suggestion is keep all important parts together- like the chapters about the pranks be all together.<br>Update soon, you take too long!

_**aww :) yeh, I'm a sucker for dramatic irony so expect more of it :)and haha :) thank you so much :D and thank you for the advice (I know my last prank got a little drawn out to say the least) and I know :S I will try to be quicker in future :)**_

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><p>Blue Luver5000 716/12 . chapter 27

Please update sooooon! I,wanna know if klump gets fired I really,wanna see sprout! Update sooooooooon!

_**I will :) and haha, it may take a little while for sprout to come in to the story :) but yeah, I will update soon :)**_

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><p>Potterhead1997 716/12 . chapter 27

Fire Klump and bring in Sprout! great though I worry the magic they do is to advanced

**_haha :) will do :) and yeh, I have to admit that that is something I constantly forget :S I will try be more careful about it in the future :) thank you so much for telling me :)_**


	28. Hippopotomonstrosespuippedalio phobia

By the time James had woken up and clambered lazily out of bed, Remus had already skimmed through 'Hogwarts, a History' in its entirety (thankfully finding no mention of the shack in connection to any hidden tunnels or secret passages), and placed the book carefully back inside his friend's school bag. Not that James had taken any notice of this of course; for the most part he had been asleep. Even once he had woken up his mind was firmly fixed on other things, namely finding out who Colin had kissed.

"Colin, remember you were saying about kissing that girl last night, oh, what's her name? I think it was M something?" he said, glancing hopefully in the blonde boy's direction.

"Yes."

"I don't think 'Yes' is a name," James said sharply, "And I don't think it starts with M."

"It's not and it doesn't."

"Well, what was her name?"

"I'm not telling you."

James sighed. Although he had been expecting this answer, he'd also hoped to get more out of the boy.

"Not going to give us even a teeny tiny extra clue?" Sirius asked, voicing James's thoughts as he pulled on his school uniform.

"No."

"Not even a tweeny weeny, tiny whiny, itsy bitsy, little-"

"No," Colin said flatly, slinging his bag over his shoulder and marching out of the dormitory, slamming the door behind him.

"Ohh, someone's a bit touchy today," Sirius said loudly, hoping Colin would still be able to hear him.

"I know," James agreed as he pulled on his socks, "I don't think I've ever heard so few words come out of that boy's mouth. Normally he can't help but spout out so much nonsense that you need a dictionary to translate it."

"It's not that bad," Remus said.

"Yes it is," James said, giving his friend a dark look. "The other day he used the word defenestrate."

Peter looked up. "What does that mean?"

"No idea, my friend, no idea at all. All I know is that it is a word and it's very, very scary."

"It means to throw somebody or something out of a window."

James looked at Remus with a mixture of shock and fear. "How did you know that?"

The young boy shrugged, "I read?"

"But it's so… so... scary!"

Remus laughed. "What's the matter James? You don't have-Hippopotomonstrosesquippedal iophobia?"

James almost shrieked at the long word, promptly toppling off the bed he had been sitting on. "How do you know such evil words, Remus? What would posses you to learn such malevolent language?"

"Malevolent language?" Sirius said quickly. "Bit of a hypocrite, aren't we James?"

"Hypocrite?" James repeated, shocked. "No, Sirius! Don't say Colin's disease has spread to you too!" James then proceeded to run across the room and hug Sirius, begging him to return to normal.

"Merlin, you guys are weird." Peter muttered, speaking to nobody in particular as he sat on the edge of his bed, watching his friends in dismay.

"I know, Pete," Remus said, placing the final load of books into his bag. "I often wonder why we even bother to be friends with them." Both boys smiled at the light comment, their stomachs, however, mutually squirmed. Neither had been popular before coming to Hogwarts, and each had dreaded the prospect of making new friends, never daring to believe that people as confident as James and Sirius would even speak to them. And yet, here they were, sitting in the Gryffindor dormitory, watching their admittedly weird friends- but friends never the less-dramatically prance about, pretending to be upset over long words.

"Guys, as much fun as I'm sure you're having," Remus said sarcastically, "Can we not just go to breakfast?"

James and Sirius froze mid- whatever they were doing- ears practically twitching at the word 'breakfast.'

"That sounds like a good idea chaps, let's stop this glaikery at once and make our way to breakfast," Sirius said in a posh accent.

James nodded promptly, dusting himself down for no apparent reason. "I accede."

"So you're now speaking all posh and using long words despite having been afraid of them a few minutes ago?" Peter asked, looking at each boy in confusion.

"I believe that Colin's disease has completely taken over them," Remus said wisely, laughing at Peter's continued bewilderment.

"How dare you, sir," James pronounced angrily, "I am in fact a proud logophile, a language aficionado if you will, and I am sorry if my utilisation of sesquipedalian is too copious for your diminutive comprehension, but I will express myself as I see fit."

Peter looked as though his head was about to explode whilst Remus simply nodded. "Great, well I'm glad that you've told us that. And now, if you have no actual objections against breakfast, can we please go?"

"Yes."

"Good," Peter smiled. "Now I can actually understand what you're saying again."

"Parler trop vite," Remus said smugly as they begun to make their way towards the Great Hall. "Il serait imprudent."

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><p><strong>AN: I am so so so very sorry for the lateness of this chapter : however for once I have a very good (ish) reason :) well to be fair it isn't really a good reason, but it is a reason, which is better than normal :) basically I have finally gotten off my high horse, finally admitted that I'm not too good at spelling or grammer and finally found myself a (very wonderful) beta (the very wonderful Dndchk)! unfortunatly there was a little miscomunication, which resulted in the lateness of the chapter (which is no ones fault at all) however hopefully the wait was worth it as grammatically and spelling-ly (?) this chapter is now infinatly better :D you alos may be intrested to know that the aforementioned mentioned wonderful and oh-so-lovely Dndchk is also demonstrating her wonderfuland oh-so-lovelyness by going through and beta-ing my previous chapters as well (which is amazing so thank you so so much Dndchk :D) It is also amazing as Dndchk does it along side writing her own amazing story, 'they call me Ebony', which is a really good other marauder fic, so if you like that kind of thing you should really check it out (yes that was my very poor attempt at a very poor plug, so I am sorry. In my defence her story is genuinly worth reading - a combined total of 70 followers and 58 favourit-ers(?) for parts 1 and 2 can't be wrong) Anyways.. as always please tell me what you think of the chapter :) I love to hear what you think, no matter how harsh it is :) constructive critism is always welcome :) and yeah, I will try and update soon, although that may be an empty promise as the olympics starts tomorrow and I get weirdly patriotic so if either Italy, New Zealand or team GB are competing in something I will be glued to the telly for hours :) oh also just a little disclaimer for the long words I used- they are all real words, but I obviously won't pretend that I knew all of them before writing this so if I've accidently used them in the wrong context I am very very sorry and if you wish to correct me then please, feel free. The same with the french at the end, I think its right but it might not be, so sorry in advance :)**

**also on the topic of disclaimers I havn't given one in a very long while, so just to clarify I am not (her holiness) JK Rowling and I did not write (what is to me the bible) Harry Potter. I know this might come as a shock to all of you so please sit down, have a glass of water and breath :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p>Toby 725/12 . chapter 26

A bit short, I was on holiday so I didnt see the etaser chapter, in fact I still am but I found a computer with internet so slow that it takes 5 minutes to load one chapter of fanfiction. Well this chapter was ood if a bit short, yo could have lengthened the liily james banter a bit, maybe have him push her into an alcove and she thinks hes taking advantage of ehr but then a teacher walks past, say filch and she realises he got them out of trouble, and her shouting attracts mcgonnagall, or something along those lines?

Wow that was a long train of thought but my point is you could have made it a bit more interesting.

toby

_**yeah :/ it was short, I'm sorry :( I've just re-read the chapter and I completly get what you are saying- to be honest it was a filler chapter and at the time I was suffering from serious writers block which is why I didn't make it as excting as I should have done, which I know is awful, and not in any way and excuse so sorry :( however on a positive note I completly hear what your saying and will try and make the next chapter a lot more exciting (I'm not sure that the one above you is that good either) and (as soon as I manage to think on up) start to get a good plot going :) thankyou though for being so honest and criticle, I will try and make my next chapter more interesting :)**_

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><p>Crazybunny009 722/12 . chapter 28

I LOVE your story it is quite amazing and your the only I know that actually STILL updating a marauder story from year one

_**thankyou so so much :) and ahah :) at the rate this is going I'm not suprised- the next chapter will be my 30th and they still havn't reached anywhere near christmas :S**_

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><p>RahRahReplica 720/12 . chapter 27

I hope you update soon!

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><p>RahRahReplica 720/12 . chapter 26

You're a great story teller but you really should get a beta to help you with your grammar. And please proof read! You seem to think faster than you type. And I know how you feel wanting to get stories out there as soon as you've written them but patience is key.

Aloud I read aloud to the class  
>Allowed given permission<p>

You're you are  
>Your your teddybear. Use it like my, his, her, ours, their etc.<p>

There He's over there  
>They're They are from England<br>Their their teddybear(s)

Anyway, I'm really enjoying the story, you think of everything! Really, I love the progression and the multiple POVs.

_**thank you :) as you can see from my authors note I have completly taken your advice and gotten myself a beta :) so thank you so so much for telling me I needed one, you are completly right, I would be the first to admit my spelling and grammer is bad but I read back over the chapter and must admit I winced at stupid mistakes and stupid things like 'and glasses with really thick rimmed glasses' which I guess prove that I really do need to proof read. I am sorry for putting you through my awful writing, but it will hopefully be better from now on and easier to read :) thank you so so much for this helpful review :)**_

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><p>RahRahReplica 720/12 . chapter 24

You made me like Peter!

_**aha :) yey :D thanks :)**_

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><p>Sorenson Carlisle 719/12 . chapter 28

Bwaahhaaahaa what a funny chapter remis jumps to a wrong cunclusion to fast first the book says the passages are obviously in he castle and too they were built a long time ago before the tree duuu :)

As for the twilight joke that was funny as I am a fan of the books but the jokes about them are funny ay least you didn't make a joke on a really good book like Harry potter even tho twilight was not around at that time still funny! ;)

As for the chapter it self well great job can't believe the git got a kiss but hey the length was nice to keeP writing:)

No I have a computer and I live near a library but it just would have been nicer to yous my iPod cause its just so handy :)

Ps. Don't get hit by a bus cause then I would not know the end at least Finnish their seven years then you may run into as many buyer that you pleas! :)

**_hah :) yeah, typical remus :) and yeah, I'm fairly sure Dumbledore created the secret passage that he uses as well as getting the tree planted :) and thank you, yeh I know it wasn't written then but I couldn't resist :) and thank you so much :) and please write your story, I'm genuinly excited for it :) and ahah :) I will try not to :)_**

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><p>Blue Luver5000 719/12 . chapter 28

AWWWWWW but it is sprout the best herbology teacher ever please at least have her in the next year! Please update sooooon!

**_oh, I didn't mean not having her this year, just not for (at least) a few chapters :)_**

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><p>Missin-in-action 719/12 . chapter 28

I love it! I think you have portrayed all the characyers perfectly! Please continue :D

**_thank you so so mcuh :D and I will :)_**

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><p>Dndchk 718/12 . chapter 28

*snorts* ever try reading Twilight?  
>Although it wasn't published in their time, still brilliant.<br>Ollivnders is only in Diagon Alley, but good job with the textbook entries- mine never sound that convincing. I hope they find a passage soon!

**_ahah :) I know :D it's just like I said in a diffrent review response, I couldn't resist :) and actually according to harry potter wiki it is, apparently there is a branch run by an assistent or something in Hogsmeade :/ but I've changed it anyway to avoid confustion :) so thanks :) and thankyou :) aha :) they took a suprisingly long time to write :) and they might... :) aha :) and thankyou so so much for agreeing to beta this (chapter 29) chapter for me :D _**

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><p>TheEvilPinkCupcake 718/12 . chapter 28

Colin's a meanie-poo. I love the chapter! :)

**_haha :) I think 'meanie-poo' is an excellent description of Collin :)_**


	29. MM

The news that Colin Jackson had kissed a girl spread quickly throughout the Houses, until it seemed that the entire first year knew. The Gryffindor girls first found out about it at breakfast, where Sirius and James seemed to have taken it upon themselves to not only interrogate Colin, but every possible girl involved. The pair brought it up at every unlikely moment, trying to force them into giving various, and mostly meaningless, details of the previous night. Surprisingly though, they were not the ones to take the most interest in the now infamous kiss. This prize went to Amelie Bureau. The young French witch quickly became obsessed with the scandal, talking about it incessantly with anyone who would listen to her wild speculation of exactly what had happened and who it had happened to.

"I was speaking to a _very _well informed source earlier this morning," she explained importantly to Mary MacDonald as the pair walked to potions, "That it might have even gone further than a kiss on the cheek." She paused, taking a dramatic breath in before continuing, "Rumour has it that the kiss was, in fact, on the mouth." Mary gave a small gasp, as was expected of her, before Amelie continued talking, ignorant of her friend's poorly masked worry. She was so caught up in her own ridiculous theories on what had happened that she missed the way Mary's stomach knotted and face cringed at each inaccurate detail.

"-I mean it really makes you wonder what type of girl would kiss so freely."

"Yeah," Mary nodded in false agreement, desperately trying to think of a way to change the conversation. She dreaded to think what would happen if Amelie found out about her little indiscretion; the blonde witch had already made her thoughts on the matter quite clear. But she was wrong. This was a fact that Mary had to keep reminding herself about over and over, she was not the type of girl Amelie was making her out to be and she certainly hadn't kissed Colin on the mouth. Really, it hadn't even been a kiss and was in no way romantic- the boy had merely helped with her Herbology homework and the kiss had simply been a friendly thank you.

"Really, it makes you question what a girl like that is doing in Gryffindor. She obviously has no morals and is quite clearly-"

"A massive slut." Said a voice behind them, " But of course Colin, being a boy, is still simply Colin. Really, _he_ should be congratulated. But _she-_ this girl, being a girl, should feel ashamed and-"

"Alright Evans, we get the picture," Amelie snapped, turning round to face the girl who had been walking close behind them. Mary almost let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Lily Evans, the voice of reason and a clear signal to the end of Amelie's gossiping.

"I'm just saying that it's the seventies and we don't have to put up with this sexist, 'get back to the kitchen' nonsense anymore," Lily said simply, looking to the girls she had been walking with for support.

"Sounds about right to me," Martie said with a nod, "We don't need more people like my mum."

"Well, maybe you're only saying that because you're hiding something," Amelie said with a sniff.

"I didn't kiss Colin if that's what you're suggesting," Lily said quickly.

"No, you had detention last night and came straight back to the dorm to avoid Potter," Amelie mused, giving Lily a brief and somewhat forced smile before turning to Martie, "You however, Miss Matilda McClowers… well, not only do you have the correct initials, but I also don't seem to remember where you were for a large chunk of last night. You certainly didn't help us rectify the boy's dormitory."

"I was in the common room working on my Charms."

"You were in the common room working on your Charms," Amelie repeated, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yes."

"And would those charms be directed toward Colin Jackson in any way?"

Martie rolled her eyes. "What do you think? We have Charms straight after break and I still can't even levitate a feather- even Peter can do that! You know Flitwick threatened detention if I hadn't mastered the spell. Do you really think I would be wasting my time snogging Colin?" she said incredulously, arms flailing in frustration. "Besides," she added, "he's not my type."

"Well, we will see about that," Amelie said ominously as the girls finally arrived at potions. She flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder as she entered, giving the bewildered girls yet another brief, forced smile before walking off to her seat. Mary started to follow her but stopped when Amelie turned around, giving her a confused and somewhat belittling look.

"There's a seating plan."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Mary said awkwardly before rushing over to her seat. She was normally good at remembering where each classroom was and always had the correct equipment for each lesson, but for some reason the young witch never remembered the seating plan in potions. In her muggle primary school they had been seated alphabetically and at Hogwarts most Professors didn't pay much attention to where they sat. Slughorn, however, was different, insisting that they remained in the same seat as the first lesson until he moved them to work with someone else to form a more efficient 'potion partnering', as he had happily dubbed it. For the time being Mary remained with her original partner, Remus Lupin. She sighed as she looked at the empty seat beside her. Whilst Remus was seemingly the nicest and most polite of the Gryffindor boys, he was always just as late as the rest of them. She had once had to wait fifteen minutes into the lesson for him to arrive, but it rarely took this long for the Gryffindors to turn up; indeed, only five minutes later, he stumbled into the dungeons with his friends.

"Sorry," he said as he walked through the door before quickly seating himself down as Slughorn began the lesson. "Sorry," he repeated to her, "This whole Colin kissing business kept Sirius and James distracted over breakfast." She smiled at the excuse but said nothing, insides squirming at the mention of the kiss.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said stiffly, determinedly avoiding eye contact, not even daring to glance at the boy, afraid he would guess her secret.

"Are you sure? Because if you need to go to Matron I can take you."

Forcing herself to smile she said, "No, I'm fine."

Remus gave a small smile, unconvinced. "Okay, but if you need to go, tell me." She nodded. "Now with what I was saying before- James and Sirius have become a little obsessed over this whole kiss thing and I don't know if you realised but you have the same initials as the girl who kissed Colin so they have asked me to ask you if it was you and where you were and stuff. "

Mary froze in fear. It felt as if her heart had stopped and the whole world had slowed down, intensifying this one moment. What would Amelie think of her? Well she knew what she would think; whilst what Lily had said was sarcastic it essentially summed up Amelie's view of Colin's mystery girl. 'Slut'. Why had she kissed him?

"Don't worry," Remus said quickly, giving her yet another smile, "I'm not going to actually ask- I mean I was also meant to be subtle about it and I don't think that 'subtle' would ever be considered as a definition for what I just did. I just wanted to let you know that if you want to tell me where you were to clear your name and stop them hassling you, then you can do that, and if you don't then that's cool and I will say that you caught on to what I was doing."

"Right," Mary said, a little confused.

"Sorry, I don't think that quite made sense. Do you want me to explain again?"

"No, it's fine, let's just get on with the work," Mary said, quickly turning to read the instructions Slughorn had written on the blackboard. "So for this one I think we need to add the newt's eyes first?"

"Yeah," Remus said, quickly scanning the board to double check, "Sounds about right to me. I don't have any though, do you?"

"No, I'll go get some from the store cupboard."

"You sure? If you're still feeling ill, I can go and-"

"Remus, it's fine. I'll go."

Mary quickly weaved her way through each pair, keeping her head down as she passed the Slytherins before finally arriving at the store cupboard and quickly rummaging around. She couldn't find any newt's eyes, so she took a few dead newts from a jar, wrinkling her nose slightly at their smell and slimy texture, resolving to somehow cut the eyes out once she was back at her table.

"Miss MacDonald, what are you doing with those newts?" She almost dropped the jar in shock at Slughorn's sudden booming voice. The professor stood in the doorway, looking at her curiously.

"Sorry professor, my partner and I don't have any newt's eyes, so I was going to cut them out of the newt," she said quickly.

The rounded Professor smiled and shook his head. "Even if you somehow manage to do it without ruining the quality of the eye, it will take too long. Are there any newt's eyes in the cupboard which aren't attached to a newt?"

"No. Sorry Professor."

Slughorn sighed and scratched his head, "Have you switched potions partners yet?"

"No Professor."

"Well, this would be the perfect opportunity to do so," he said, beaming. He quickly ushered her out of the store cupboard and made his way to his desk, where he extracted a long list of names with odd symbols next to them. She immediately spotted her own name written next to Remus's in red ink. Next to it stood a large M with a line through it, a question mark and the number 5 followed by various incomprehensible squiggles. She frowned at this, unsure of what each meant.

"You're currently partners with Remus Lupin?" Slughorn asked as he began examining the parchment.

"Yes Professor."

Slughorn nodded and began muttering quietly to himself, tracing his wand across the piece of paper, dragging hers and Remus' names about and realigning them with various other people. It was a few minutes before a satisfied smile appeared on the Professor's face.

"Okay, Miss Macdonald, if you want to gather your things I will take you to your new partner."

Colin Jackson. Slughorn had paired her with Colin Jackson. Mary felt her face immediately flush with a mixture of anger and embarrassment as she sat herself down next to the boy she had kissed less than twenty four hours before. Slughorn couldn't have known or even guessed what had happened, she knew this, yet she couldn't help but feel angry towards the dumpy professor. It made no sense; whilst she was nowhere near the bottom of the class she also wasn't close to the top. Colin, on the other hand, happily showed off his superior knowledge, loudly pronouncing every correct answer and good mark. Remus's pairing also didn't make sense. Slughorn had put the intelligent and hard working boy with Allie Adams. Whilst the girl appeared nice enough, she was, quite simply, hopeless at Potions. Only the previous lesson she had somehow managed to add asphodel to hers and Colin's potion, an ingredient that was not even on the list, turning the liquid an odd, gloopy, mustard yellow, opposed to the light blue it was meant to be. However Allie and Remus's odd coupling was none of Mary's concern, instead she had to turn her attention to more important matters at hand, namely the kiss she had given Colin.

"Hello Mary," Colin said coyly, scooting his chair over so it was closer to hers.

"Hi Colin," she said, not daring to look at him. Instead she set about awkwardly rearranging the items on her desk.

"I think we need to talk."

"So do I," Mary said quickly, taking a deep breath, "We need to talk about that-" she stopped, unable to say the dreaded and embarrassing word, "about that… you know…" she looked at him uncomfortably.

"Kiss?"

"Shh!" She said quickly, practically leaping out of her seat as her hand shot up to cover his mouth. "It wasn't a kiss, alright?"

"Mmhm," he nodded through her hand.

"Sorry." She took her hand away from his mouth and gave him an apologetic look, "Sorry."

"It's fine," he said as she quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching them.

"I haven't told anyone about us if that's what you're worried about."

"Thank you," she said, missing the hurt in his voice, "And see, this is the thing Colin- there is no _us_."

"What?" His voice suddenly went high pitched, a sting of tears appearing in his eyes.

"There's no us."

She hadn't meant to sound so harsh and cold, but she had to stop any kind of relationship with him, if only for the sake of her friendship with Amelie. She knew how stupid it sounded to sacrifice one friendship for another, but it had to be done. Amelie, a beautiful and confident person- the type Mary would never have even dreamt associating with, had been nice to _her_. _She_ had wanted to be _her_ friend_. _Amelie made her feel special and pretty. She leant her hair and beauty products, gave her makeovers and the pair stayed up later than all the other girls at night to gossip about them. They were already planning spending their Christmas holidays together; Amelie had wanted to go to Mary's house and the girl was only too happy to say yes. The only thing that threatened what to Mary seemed a perfect friendship was her kiss with Colin. She simply dreaded to think what would happen if the girl ever found out. Severing all ties with Colin was the best, and admittedly only, way she could think of making sure that that never happened. If she and Colin even spoke to each other, let alone began to spend time together, she could only assume that people would talk.

"There is no us?" Colin repeated in disbelief.

"That's what I said Colin."

"But- but- you kissed me?" his voice trembled as he said it. He looked at her, desperately searching for some sign in her face that contradicted the words coming out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry Colin, it didn't mean anything." Mary was about to comfortingly place her arm on the boys shoulder when she spotted Amelie's bright blue eyes staring at her from across the classroom.

"Don't cry Colin," she said instead, retracting her arm and turning to the potion that they were meant to be working on.

"I wasn't about to," Colin said stiffly.

"Good. Can you pass me the bottle of flobberworm mucus?"

"What?" Colin said, surprised not only at the sudden change in conversation, but the sudden change in Mary. The girl had made her voice uncharacteristically light and the smile that graced her lips was undeniably forced.

"The bottle of flobberworm mucus," She repeated, "can you pass it to me?"

"Oh, yes. Sorry." He passed the girl the labelled bottle.

They continued throught the lesson in near silence, exchanging only the odd word, wincing every time their hands brushed against each other. Mary felt as though she was in a bad rom-com, like something her mother watched. Despite the boy's over bearing ego, Colin had been nice to her and helped her out a lot- she certainty wouldn't have been able to do her homework by herself. And, whilst romantically she had no feelings towards him, she wouldn't have minded becoming friends. But she had to push these thoughts to the back of her mind. Her main priority was keeping her friendship with Amelie intact and keeping her reputation clean. She did not want to be labelled a slut. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if she was being too harsh towards Colin. She should at least have apologised for kissing him and accidently leading him on. She was about to turn to the blonde boy when she yet again noticed Amelie staring at her from across the room, eyes narrowed and smirk firmly imprinted on her face. Mary flushed and turned immediately to the potion, not even daring to talk, let alone make eye contact with Colin whilst Amelie was clearly observing them. She remained like this for the rest of the lesson, becoming fixated with the potion and re-checking the instructions, determined not to look at the boy standing next to her. She couldn't help but audibly sigh in relief when Slughorn dismissed the class and she could finally gather up her books and leave.

"So," Amelie said, running to catch her up as she made her way down a corridor, "did you enjoy the lesson?"

"Yes," Mary said, trying to maintain neutral and in control of her features.

"Oh that's good," Amelie said, still staring intently at her friend. Mary nodded, unsure of what to say next.

"You know, I was doing some thinking in the lesson Mary," Amelie continued, "and it has only just dawned on me that you have the same initials as that- well I don't like to use such language, but you have the same initials as that slut who kissed Colin."

"Oh really?" Mary said, fighting to keep her tone vague and uncaring.

"Yes, really," Amelie repeated, suddenly spinning round on her heels so she was face to face with her friend, blocking her and making them both abruptly stop in the middle of the corridor, "yes, you do."

"Oh."

"Did you kiss Colin Mary?" Amelie had lost all kindness from her voice by now. Instead the tone she took was threatening, every syllable coated in an underlying menace. Yet she still smiled. Coaxingly she said, "Come on Mary, you can tell me, we are friends."

Mary nodded, unable to speak. But she couldn't tell Amelie the truth, she didn't want to lose her. She couldn't lose her.

"No." She heard the lie easily escape her mouth, immediately feeling the relief in bought.

"No?" Amelie's eyebrows shot up, her eyes boring into Mary's, "Are you quite sure you're telling me the truth. Only enemies lie to each other."

_Enemies._ The word struck Mary as odd, yet still evoked the reaction that Amelie had sought after.

"I'm sorry Amelie, I didn't mean it, it wasn't on the lips, I-"

"I can't believe you."

"I'm so sorry Amelie, I won't ever speak to him again, I'll do whatever makes it right in your eyes-"

"Well it isn't just me that you have to please, imagine what everyone else will think of you if this comes out," Amelie said, absentmindedly twiddling a strand of long blonde hair around her finger.

"No! Amelie please, don't tell them!"

"Mary, honey, we're friends! Do you really think I would tell everyone your secret?"

Mary felt relief immediately rush over her, "thank you so much Amelie."

"Don't mention it," the French girl said, waving her hand through the air, "I'm sure you'll make it up to me. Besides, what you did with Colin will probably come out without my help."

"What?" Mary asked, confused.

"Well James and Sirius seem_ pretty_ intent on finding out who kissed Colin," Amelie said, still smiling.

"What can I do Amelie?" Mary asked, looking up pleadingly into her friends blue eyes.

"Well," the girl took a long pause as she continued to twirl her hair with her fingers, "I guess the only way to make people forget about it would be to distract attention from yourself."

"That's fine, I can handle becoming near invisible."

"No, that won't be enough," Amelie said, becoming serious for the first time in the conversation, "You need to find another scandal, one that is so big and so outrageous that it will blow yours out of the water."

Mary gulped. "Ok, but what if I can't find one?"

"Then make it up!" Amelie said brightly, "as long as it's realistic and plausible enough it will work. Oh and also you need to keep away from Colin and not kiss any other boys," Amelie added as Mary quickly nodded in agreement, "I have many a boy chasing me at the moment, but I don't give in and I would never be so sluttish as to actually give them a kiss."

"Who?" Mary asked, the words escaping her mouth before she really thought them through.

"Huh?"

"Who are the boys' chasing you?" Mary asked shyly, keen not to reaffirm her position in Amelie's bad books.

"Oh," Amelie giggled, turning a girlish pink, "Well every now and then I find a few boy's looking at me and what not. But today, in potions, I realised that there is this one boy who is _constantly_ looking at me. I think he might be a little obsessed."

"Have you spoken to him?"

"Not directly, no. I think he's a bit shy, bless him. But the way he looks at me- he's obviously got a crush." Amelie smiled to herself, almost forgetting about their previous conversation in which she had labelled girl's who kiss boy's 'sluts'.

"Who is it?" Mary asked.

"Well, I shouldn't really say as I don't want to embarrass him. But, as we're_ friends_," Mary couldn't help but beam at the word, "I really should tell you." She paused dramatically, taking a deep breath, "It's James Potter."

"Really?"

"Yes. He is absolutely simply smitten with me, I swear the boy is infatuated- not that I would ever give in to one of his advances, but still…" Her voice trailed off as the two girls began to make their way down the corridor, linked arm in arm. Mary couldn't help but think how lucky she was as she listened to Amelie talk about James. Despite disapproving of what she had done, Amelie had not only forgiven her, but showed her the way out of the difficult situation. All she had to do now was dig up a scandal big enough to eclipse her own. Or make one up.

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><p>update: once again I have decided to make two chapters in to one so I have decided to put both the authors notes for the two chapters below :)<p>

**AN: Dear readers, if you are expecting a long, garbled apology on why this is so late and short (although, to be fair this chapter isn't my shortest) accompanied with various, mismatched and unrelated excuses, then I am afraid to say that you are absolutely right (and that I am getting rather predictable). Sorry. I am honestly so, so, so sorry for leaving this so long. Please forgive me :) (and now for the excuse...) basically my lovely parents forgot to tell me that we were going down to my Grandparents for about a week until less than a day before. unfortunately my Grandparents don't have internet so not only have I have been unable to upload anything, I also didn't bother taking my laptop down (forgetting that I could still write fanfiction without the internet I'm stupid, I know) so haven't written anything for a week :/ so yeah, I am so so so sorry :( also I might be going on holiday later this week so if that happens I obviously won't be able to post or write (no internet/can't take my laptop anyway) anything :( sorry :( (hopefully I will be able to update before I go on holiday to confirm this) now, onto other stuff :) I would like to give a massive thankyou to Dndchk for beta-ing this :) I would also like to give a massive thankyou to every single one of you for just reading this story :D and a special thankyou to those who favourite, subscribe or review (especially if that review contains constructive criticism as that is always ridiculously helpful) :) and I'm not just saying that to make you like me or appear like a nice person, each and everyone of you truly inspires me to continue writing this story and if you review then you are especially helping me out with it :) you are all amazing :D thankyou :) this kinda-ish brings me on to my next thing. I received a review from the very lovely Athena's-Dragon-138 asking me to stop replying to the reviews at the end of each chapter. I have thought long and hard about this and decided that what she (or he) is saying makes perfect sence so, following her (or potentially his)advice I will instead reply to reviews through PM (private messaging) unless they are very important (like this one) and need to be addressed either in the authors note or directly below it :) however as I obviously can't reply to anonymous reviews in this way I will still reply to them at the bottom of the chapter :) I have also decided that as reviews are so so so important to me (incase I have neglected to mention this: they are truly amazing, especially if they are constructive, critical and encouraging) I still want to acknowledge them within the story in some way :) now I know this is stupid, and not nearly enough for what you wonderful reviewers really deserve, but I'm going to dedicate each chapter to those who reviewed the last and leave a list of names at the bottom of each chapter (if this doesn't make sence scroll down and you will see what I mean) as I just said I know this isn't enough, but yeah, it's my (very) small way of saying thankyou :) so thankyou wonderful people of fanfiction :)**

**millie~mae**

**p.s.- guest asked if there was going to be any remus/sirius slash and I am sad to say that there won't :( Although I personally love wolfstar and belive that it works completely in the world of cannon, but some (really wierd) people (who don't seem to own a heart) disagree, so I have decided not to (maybe I should write another story eh?).**

**AN: so... yeah. I'm guessing I'm going to have to explain this chapter (and character) a little bit which is something I really didn't want to do. Basically I didn't want you to think I was going all Mary-Sue on you with, urm, Mary's character and her friendship with Amelie. I promise you that her weakness and the overly controlling relationship is completely intentional. I only realised after writing the chapter that I shouldn't have written from her p.o.v. but I kinda needed to. As I have said previously I don't plan what I write, the plot just forms itself, but I have created my characters properly (I promise) and know their entire history and personality and what not inside and out, and although I don't have a plot lined out I sort of know what I want to do with character development and stuff to almost every first year Gryffindor, and even a few from the other houses and years (some of which haven't even been introduced yet, or only seen briefly). (so despite the lack of plot I have already in previous chapters thrown in some foreshadowing, making me feel very smug indeed.) So what I am trying to say is:**

**1) yes, I was stupid to write from Mary's p.o.v. and I apologise in advance**

**2) no, she isn't a Mary-Sue, all similar traits are intentional (so I hope this somehow stops her being one. Also I would like to point out she isn't the main character and everyone doesn't love her- I think that this stops her being one too)**

**3)I know I should delete this and chapter 30, but it is needed for future (very, very, far, far, far future) character development, and also so you know them a bit better when they are just mentioned in general.**

**I was going to stop at 3 (and officially have, as I think it looks nicer... yes, I am a wee bit wierd) but also I promise I haven't made a classic harry potter fanfiction writer mistake in not making sure that the characters are suited to the houses, I know it won't be obvious yet, but I promise that I have thought it through :)**

**So I am sorry for writing such a long AN explaining my chapter, which I know is an absolutely awful thing to do (story's are like jokes- if they have to be explained then they tend to be a bit shit) but, in this case, I thought it might be necessary. Thank you so so so much to every single one of you beautiful, amazing and undeniably sexy people for reading this. You are all amazing. And a special thankyou to everyone who reviews, favourites or adds to their alerts :) you guys are just too cool. I would also just like to say that this chapter unfortunately isn't beta-ed (hopefully the next one should be) so I take full responsibility for any and every mistake :) love you guys!**

**~millie-mae**

**ps: I always forget to write a disclaimer and I think that we all know why. Yes, that is right, I, JK Rowling, the first person to ever become a billionaire from writing books, have decided to pose as a fifteen year old girl online and write fanfiction for my own creation. **

**pps (or pss, I can never remember): I was lying. I'm sure you are all very surprised. Just to reiterate: I am not JK Rowling, I am not making any money what so ever from doing this and I certainatly didn't create, or in any way own Harry Potter. If I did... well Umbridge would be dead for a start.**

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><p><em>This chapter is dedicated to the lovely Athena's-Dragon-138, the brilliant SmartiesChocolate222, the incredible jamesprongslover123, the fantastic Zinnaella Amilie-Anne Black, the mysterious 'Guest', the down right amazing Sorenson Carlisle, the beautiful CoralFlower, the superb ladybug28, the spectacular Blue Luver5000, the magnificent Catalyste and the supermegafoxyawesomehot Dndchk. Thank you. <em>


	30. Another Detention

James was determined to find out who had kissed Colin Jackson. Throughout the day he had been subtly questioning the boy, hoping to find out even more details about his mystery girl. He had been hopeful of finding out her full identity before the day was out. Yet here he was, on his way to his second detention with Evans, still none the wiser. Of course he still had a while longer before he went to sleep and the day really ended, but what difference would those few hours make if he was stuck in detention? He might as well give up and try again tomorrow. Unless, of course, Evans knew something. The idea struck him at first as absurd; he was, surely, insane to think that Evans would know anything about the kiss. After all, she had been at detention with him for most of last night. But, as he continued to make his way to the trophy room, he continued thinking about the idea. The more it floated around his head the more plausible it became. Evan's did of course share a room with these girls and must have made friends with some of them? Where ever you went there were groups of girls clustered in twos or threes, never once wandering through Hogwarts alone; surly this indicated that the girls, including Evans, were all friends. And he had heard that girls liked to tell other girls things, such as if they kissed a boy. Yes, he decided as he neared the room, Evan's would have a good idea of who it was. He opened the door to the trophy room, finding the red headed girl already inside.

"Lily," he said politely, making a point of using her first name opposed to her last as he entered, giving her a wide smile that she all but returned.

"Potter."

James frowned, unsure what he had done to deserve the cold greeting. He thought they had made up after their last falling out. Or had they fallen out again? He wracked his brain, hurriedly searching through the short history of their variably volatile friendship. He couldn't remember.

"Lily, are we friends at the moment?" He asked cautiously.

"No."

"Oh," James said, trying to remember what he had done. "Why?"

Lily gave him a hurt look, "You told me that Sev and I can't be friends because I'm muggleborn and that Sev's a blood purist and pretty much evil."

"Oh," James repeated, hastily looking down at his feet, not quite sure what to say. "Lily, look, I'm sorry if what I said upset you, but it kind of is true-"

"Just shut up James," Lily snapped, cutting him off. However, the use of his first name unintentionally encouraged the boy, so, taking a deep breath, he tried to continue,

"I saw him hex a muggle born Hufflepuff the other day."

"Stop lying to me Potter." Lily's face was so contorted with anger that James missed the tears that appear in her eyes.

"Lily, I'm sorry but I can't let you be friends with-"

"You can't _let _me be friends with someone?!" Lily repeated incredulously, anger trembling through each syllable, "When did you, Potter, get any say in who I am friends with?!"

"Lily, calm down," James said, scared at the witch's sudden outburst.

"And now you think you can tell me to calm down?!"

"No! I mean- well, just please, calm down so we can talk rationally," James said, stumbling over his words as he pleaded with what, quite simply, was an incredibly irrational Lily. "Just settle down so we can have a nice conversation and smooth this-"

"Stop being so patronising Potter," Lily snapped, walking over to where her bag of books lay. She angrily picked them up, swinging them over her shoulder with such force that one of the books flew out and hit James square in the chest before falling to the floor.

"Patronising? How was I-"

"Yes, Patronising. It means to be belittling or be condescending towards someone, treating them as if they are less intelligent or-" Lily paused at this. Despite her anger her cheeks still flushed pink as she realised the hypocrisy in what she was saying.

"Lily, come on," James said slowly, trying his best to calm the girl, "Just take some deep breaths and relax. Once you do that I'm sure you will realise that what I said isn't as bad as you think, and that there may even be a little truth in it."

Lily glared at him. She wanted to tell him him how disgusting he was for suggesting that she couldn't be friends with someone simply because she was muggleborn, simply because her parents were who they were, a fact beyond their or her control. She wanted to yell at him for being so closed minded to make immediate negative assumptions about Sev and for not being able to see past the words 'Slytherin'. But, as she pushed past the boy and marched out of the room, pausing only to grab her fallen book, she was too angry to even muster the words, resorting instead on slamming the door behind her with a prominent thud.

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><p><strong>AN: This authors note will be short (a bit like the chapter). I promise (you can all breathe a sigh of relief). Basically I am going on holiday tomorrow (hence the quick update) so, unless I can find wifi, this will be your last update for a small while : I am very, very sorry :( also, as I had to update quickly (to be able to tell you I am going on holiday so you don't think I've abandoned the story) my wonderful beta Dndchk was unable to beta this, so once again all mistakes are my own. But what did you think of the chapter? was it too confusing having two chapters focused on Mary to switch straight back into this? also do you think that James and Lily should be not friends properly for good now or should they keep making/breaking (friendship wise) up until James does something really bad (I kind of don't think this is bad enough- don't get me wrong, It's bad, but yeah..) hmm... as always I love hearing your opinions and feedback and stuff so please give them (theres a little box just down below this where you can write everything you honestly think about the chapter) I openly welcome constructive criticism so please feel free to give it, I promise that nothing is too harsh :) I said this authors note was going to be shorter than the others (as I tend to ramble. A lot.) and at a glance it already looks too long so I will quickly round it off by thanking every one of you for reading this story :) you are all amazing :)**

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><p><em>This chapter is dedicated to the super Smile For Me Please, the beautiful Blue Luver5000 and the delitful Dndchk.<em>


	31. The Wrong Reasons

James burst through the dormitory door, causing the three boys seated inside to violently jump.

"James, are you okay?" Sirius asked cautiously as James hurled his bag across the room and dumped himself on the end of his bed.

"I-" James started, faltering immediately, finding himself unable to force the words out of his mouth. How could he tell his friends he was this upset over a girl? It was bad enough for Colin to have kissed one, but for him, James Potter, to actually_ like_ one! The idea was absurd, disgusting and utterly unnatural. If only stupid Severus hadn't hexed the Hufflepuff or been the stupid, slimy slimeball that he was, he wouldn't have had the argument with Lily; they would still be friends and he wouldn't be desperately trying to think of an excuse to explain away why he was so upset. It was all Snape's fault.

"I want to prank Snivillus," James said suddenly, the idea coming to him so quickly he wasn't even aware he had had it until it escaped from his lips. Sirius' eyes lit up with immediate glee, remembering the hook nosed boy from the train and the boat instantly. Remus, however, remained tensed with concern.

"Why? And you still haven't told us what you're so upset about."

"Shh! Remus!" Sirius said quickly, "We don't want to pass up an opportunity to prank Snivillus. Do you have a plan already, James?"

"No. Not yet, anyway."

"Well then, I think it's brainstorm time!" Sirius said cheerily, bouncing up and down on his bed before turning to Remus with a serious face and asking, "Is there any way of magically barricading the door against Colin so he can't get back in and disrupt the flow of our creative juices?"

"We could just lock it…"

"That will do. Where is he anyway? I mean, you don't think he's out kissing any more girls, do you?"

James smiled at the look of revulsion on Sirius's face. "No, I passed him in the common room doing homework."

"Right," Sirius said, nodding. "That should keep him busy for a while. So, has anybody got any ideas?"

"Sirius, wait," Remus said. "First of all, we still don't know why James is upset- and as his friends I think that it's our duty to find out what's wrong and help him. Secondly, we still haven't got back at the girls yet for what they did with the whole, long, pink hair, makeup, moustaches, female robes and attaching our entire dormitory to the ceiling thing. And thirdly, I thought that we were going to try and find the secret passages that lead outside of Hogwarts."

Sirius waved his hand, brushing away what Remus had said. "Yes Remus, but that can wait. Pranking Snivillus must come first."

"Don't you want to go to Hogsmead?" Remus said coaxingly, "They have Honeydukes- arguably the greatest sweetshop in the world, it has over thirty different kinds of chocolate!"

"You're the one who likes chocolate, Remus."

"They also have Zonko's, possibly the greatest joke shop ever!"

Sirius narrowed his eyes, contemplating what Remus had said. "No. Pranking Snivillus comes first."

"But-" Remus started.

"Why don't you want to prank Snivillus, Remus?" James said, interrupting his friend. "You had no problem with what we did to Colin."

"This is different."

"How?"

"You're just doing it for the wrong reasons," Remus said, not wishing to elaborate further and potentially embarrass his friend.

"And what would those be?" James said haughtily. Remus gave him a pained look, begging him not to reveal what he was thinking. James, however, merely raised his eyebrows and pouted ever so slightly, still waiting for an answer.

"I just don't think we should, that's all."

"I want an actual answer, Remus."

"Fine," Remus conceded, bracing himself for James' reaction. "I don't think we should do it because it's obvious that you've just fallen out with Lily again, and I'm going to hazard a guess that Snape is somehow involved- I don't like the guy either," Remus quickly added, silencing James's reaction to what he had already said. "But Lily does, and if you realistically want any chance of making up with her before Christmas, then this is not the way to go."

James felt his face flush red. "This has nothing to do with Evans," he snapped, angered by his embarrassment and Remus' ability to read him like a book. "I just didn't like what Snape and his friends did to that Hufflepuff, Margo Lucha, the other day, and I think anyone who thinks they're somehow superior because their blood is 'purer' needs to be taken down a peg or two."

"Okay," Remus said softly. "All I'm saying is that if this has anything to do with Lily, then you really shouldn't do it."

"Well, it doesn't," James said flatly. "Does anyone have any more objections?" He glared around the room, eyeing Sirius and Peter aggressively.

"No, James, but I think you should just cool down a bit," Sirius said calmly.

"Thank you for your concern Sirius," James said sarcastically. "But I'm just fine. Now, can we please crack on with our plan and prank Snivillus Snape?"

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><p><strong>AN: Hey :) I have many excuses as to why it has taken me so long to write so little, and I could bore you with them, but I won't :) I will however bore you with my apologies as to the time gap between this chapter and the last, how short this chapter is and also how boring it is. I'm honestly so, so sorry, and I promise the next chapter will be more enjoyable to read (it will contain the prank in it's entirety, don't worry I won't be drawing it out over numerous chapters) and a hell of a lot longer (I hope) :) Also, in response to Chousi and Toby, I promise that after the next chapter I will jump forward a bit (probably to christmas) and will continue to do so :) (basically although the story isn't halfway through year one, my writing of it is- does that make sence? What I mean is that there shouldn't be another 30 chapters before I get to the second year) and the story will begin to move quicker now :) thankyou so so much for leaving constructive criticism in your reviews :) I promise I have taken it on board :) Also, I had writers block so I went through all my previous chapters to try and make them a bit better and have put little time jumps in there, so this is now further in the story that it was without them (again I don't think I'm making sence- basically I have changed 'A week after arriving at Hogwarts and the first years already felt like they had lived there their whole lives.' to 'A Month after arriving at Hogwarts' in chapter 17, and have done similar things in other chapters) I have also given names to all my chapters (as you can probably tell from the fact that this story is called 'The Marauders' I am hopeless at naming things so if you have any better suggestions for any chapters please tell me- if I use it I will obviously credit you completely) and combined a few chapters together :) I'm sorry for the wait and this rubbish chapter, but I promise the next chapter will be better :) As always I adore hearing any kind of feedback (whether it be positive, negative or, my favourite kind, constructive) also what are your thoughts on a slightly angry James? did it work or did it feel out of character? Please be honest, I won't get offended (remember, I love and openly welcome constructive criticism).<strong>

**Thankyou :)**

**~millie-mae**

**p.s. this chapter was beta-ed by Dndchk (thankyou!) and I shockingly do not own Harry Potter :) **

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><p><em>This chapter is dedicated to the amazing reviewers: Dancer6HOA, dumbledore-plays-the-piano (aka: Toby), Chousi and Dndchk :)<em>


	32. The Inflation of Severus Snape

Lily hadn't slept. She'd spent the entire night tossing and turning, thinking constantly about what James had said, unable to remove their argument from her mind. She knew Sev. She knew him as the sweet, kind and slightly awkward boy that she had spent hours playing with and learning from over the summer holidays- not the pureblood maniac James had made him out to be. But she also knew what had happened to Margo Lucha. Rumours of the attack on the muggleborn Hufflepuff had quickly spread around the school, many with Severus Snape's name attached. Whilst the spell used had apparently been fairly simple, the damage it had caused easily rectified by a concerned Madame Pomfrey, it had been enough to scare Margo into refusing to tell on who had hexed her. Rumour had it that the spell, despite its supposed simplicity, had been dark- certainty not the type to be taught at Hogwarts. And, in spite of their friendship, Lily couldn't help but admit that Severus knew such spells. She remembered at first being aghast by the magic he could perform with his mother's wand, scared at the way he had so callously demonstrated on unsuspecting muggles. But then she had met his farther.

It was no secret amongst the inhabitants of their little town that Tobias Snape was an unpleasant man; even before befriending Sev, Lily had overheard her own farther comment on how the tall, shabby man had been seen at the pub, drunk again, frittering away what little money his family had. The reality, however, was for once much worse than what idle gossip and whispers made out. Lily had only met Severus's farther once: It had been a particularly rainy evening and she had stayed at the Snape household later than intended, not wanting to venture out into the rain and too caught up in Sev's wild tales of Hogwarts to leave. He had been mid flow, describing the various, vicious creatures hidden in the depths of the Forbidden Forest, when the sound of a door bursting open and a shout came from the kitchen. She would never forget the look of utter terror that immediately consumed her friend's face, the way his whole body tensed and paled, how his eyes fearfully darted to the source of the noise. The boy instinctively grabbed his mother's wand from the table in front of them and the pair had dashed to the kitchen. Lily was greeted with the sight of a tall, hook nosed man towering over his wife, fist raised and face full of drunken aggression.

She had screamed more than Severus' mother had when the first strike landed on the woman's haggard face. For the second and third she just stood still, frozen in horror as Mrs. Snape shrieked, whimpering on the floor at her husband's feat, begging him to stop. He didn't. Lily remembered watching as he continued to batter his wife, rooted to the spot, powerless and small. Severus, however, hadn't been shocked into stillness. Eyes wide with fear, she had watched as her friend ran in between his father and mother, acting as a human shield for the latter, causing the abuse to stop momentarily as Tobias drunkenly registered that his son had entered the fray. Lily remembered breathing a sigh of relief, naïvely thinking that it was over, that Tobias wouldn't hit his young son. The blow Tobias delivered had echoed, reverberating around the tattered room as Lily felt her heart stop in fear. It was then, as Severus executed the first of many spells he had demonstrated to Lily the previous mourning, forcing his farther to back off until knocking him out cold with a particularly nasty hex, that she understood his need to know such spells.

Sev wasn't proud of the spells he knew or the pain they caused; that was something else Lily knew. And, as sure of she was of their friendship, she knew that he wouldn't and couldn't have hexed Margo Lucha- it simply wasn't in the sweet boy's nature. She had even begun to doubt that Avery, Mulciber and the other more questionable Slytherins Sev had inexplicably started to associate with had done it. Besides, she had only originally believed them to be the culprits due to rumour- and when had rumour ever been reliable? But really, if she was honest with herself, it was more than a rumour. Margo had to be taken to the hospital wing with a blue, hot, sticky liquid rushing out of her ears, and Snape had been accused by James. And, whilst James lied constantly to the teachers, he had always been utterly truthful to her.

"You alright, Lily?" Marlene asked, jerking the red headed girl out of her inner turmoil, bringing her promptly back to the Great Hall and her breakfast.

"Huh?"

"Are you OK?" Marlene repeated slowly.

"Yeah, I'm good, why?" Lily said quickly, suddenly aware that Marlene, Allie and Martie had all abandoned their toast, leaving it half eaten on their plates, to look at her in concern.

"Well, you had a glazed look on your face and I've been asking you to pass the toast for at least the last ten minutes," Marlene said with a brief, forced smile before continuing to look at her worriedly.

"I was just daydreaming," Lily said, using a standard excuse, immediately confused as to why her friends hadn't bought it.

"Just a daydream?" Allie asked softly. It hadn't really been a question; Lily could tell by the way her friends looked at her that they all knew it had been something more upsetting.

"Yes, why?" Lily said stiffly, continuing to lie.

Allie looked at her awkwardly. "People don't tend to cry when they're daydreaming."

Lily immediately raised her hand to her cheek, feeling the remains of a tear trailed down it.

"Oh," she heard herself whisper. She hadn't realised that she had shed even this single tear, too caught up in the memory to be aware of the present.

"So, do you fancy telling us what's up?" Marlene said with a soft smile. "Because let me tell you, if it's anything to do with my idiot of a cousin-"

"Why would it have anything to do with him?" Lily asked sharply.

"Oh, I just, you know, thought you might have fallen out last night and that that might be getting you down as, urm..." Marlene tailed off as Lily continued to look at her confused.

"No. It has nothing to do with anything he's done," she said, adding after only a moment's pause, "More like something he said."

"Oh?"

Lily took a deep breath, deciding to ask her friends flat out. "Did Sev hex Margo?" The look of discomfort that passed through her friends' faces immediately showed their unanimous answer.

"That's what James told me," Marlene said softly, "And I haven't yet heard anyone else say otherwise."

"But Sev wouldn't do something like that," Lily said, feeling the blood rush from her head. "Besides, everyone's only saying that because Potter said so."

"I guess…" Marlene said, looking quickly to the other two girls for help.

"Look, Lily," Allie said plainly, "At the end of the day, no one knows who did it apart from Margo and the people who hexed her. James thinks that he knows who it was because he was the first one to find her, and got a glimpse of the attackers as they ran away, but he realistically could be wrong. The only way to find out if Snape was involved is to ask him."

"I already did," Lily said sheepishly. The girls looked at her in astonishment. "When the attack happened and everyone started to say it was Mulciber, Caron, Avery and Sev who did it… so I asked him about it."

"What did he say?" Martie said quickly.

"That he and his friends had nothing to do with it."

"And do you believe him?"

Lily opened her mouth to respond 'yes', but found that the word was stuck. "I did until James accused him," she said quietly, guiltily casting her eyes downwards. All three girls gave her a sympathetic look and were about to begin consoling her when a terrified shout came from the far end of the hall. Lily stood up, panicked, immediately recognising the voice. Despite now standing she was still unable to see as other students had also risen from their seats, so, flanked by Martie, Marlene and Allie, Lily quickly ran towards the Slytherin table, pushing her way through the quickly forming crowds. Sure enough, the voice had belonged to Severus and although she still couldn't see him properly, due to being a rather small first year, she could hear people commenting on the size of his head. Pushing herself through the gathering crowds some more, she was able to make her way over to a house table and, by standing on it, was finally able to see Severus. His head had already swollen to thrice its normal size, dwarfing his already thin frame. He spotted her immediately and desperately looked at her for help, his worried features magnified by bulbous head, as his fellow Slytherins began to back away.

"Sev!" she shouted, wracking her brains for some sort of deflation spell. A sixth year Slytherin prefect, obviously having had the same idea, began to perform an array of spells, but to no avail. Severus Snape's head continued to grow.

"Help me!" Severus shouted through his puffed up lips, appealing to the quickly growing group of students surrounding him. "Help!" The crowd however did no such thing, most too busy laughing or making snide, harsh comments. Severus tried to get off of the bench, using both hands to steady his head as he did so.

"Merlin!" shouted a tall, third year Ravenclaw.

Severus's swollen head was now half the size of his body, so obviously disproportioned that he looked like a cartoon. This, however, was not the reason for the sudden gasps and renewed shrieking from the young Slytherin boy.

"Oh my Godric! He's flying!" Indeed, as Lily took a closer look at her friend, she noticed that his feet were no longer on the ground. He continued to float higher, lead by his inflated head, as the entire hall looked on in amazement. Lily quickly glanced towards the teachers' table, hoping to see the professors busy formulating some sort of plan to deflate Severus's head and bring him down. Instead, she was dismayed to see that all the teachers had already finished their breakfast and left. This was not unusual, as most always arrived at their respective classrooms a good fifteen minutes before their students and many had things to prepare at the last minute. Still, in her current, panicked predicament, this angered Lily.

"Where are they?" Lily said furiously, turning to vent at Marlene. "Really, leaving this amount of students unsupervised in one room together! It's preposterous! Severus might be badly hurt!"

"Its fine Lily, just calm down," Marlene said, "Severus will come down soon." Lily looked incredulously at her friend as Severus continued to float upwards, nearing the great halls enchanted ceiling.

"How do you know that? He might get stuck up there forever! It could have lasting effects- his head might remain the same size, or what's happened to him might have messed with his brain- his head might explode!"

"It won't."

"I repeat- How do you know this?" Lily said frantically, angered at her friend's calm, nonplussed approach to the whole situation.

"Because it's happened to me before and I was fine," Marlene said, smiling at the memory. "My head deflated after about ten minutes and it didn't hurt a bit. It was actually quite fun once I'd gotten over the shock of it."

"How did it happen?" Lily said quizzically, obviously calmed in the knowledge that Severus was in no pain. "Is it some kind of wizarding illness?"

"No," Marlene laughed, "It's just a joke product. My brother, Tom, got James a packet of Zonko's Balloon Headed Mints and a bottle of Zonko's Ballon Headed Liquid Drops last Christmas and I was foolish enough to eat one of the mints, that's all. One of the Slytherins probably bought it and thought it would be funny to give Severus one."

Lily, however, narrowed her eyes. "Do you know if James still has any left?"

Marlene shrugged. "Probably, why?"

"I can't believe that I trusted him over Sev!" she said, silently cursing herself, unable to believe that she had trusted this- this- buffoon! over her oldest wizarding friend.

"What? No! Lily, you think he did this?"

"Of course he did," Lily said angrily, still amazed that she had been about to take the bullying toerags words over Sev's. Furiously, she began to scan for James in the crowd of students still watching the Severus float along the ceiling. "I just can't believe that I even began to trust what Potter- the boy who tipped me out of a boat on the first night here - said over one of my best friends!"

"Lily, you don't know he did this," Marlene said in what was an attempt at a rational tone, but she clearly doubted her own words.

"Oh yes, Marlene," Lily said, finally spotting James, "I do." He was standing next to Sirius, laughing. Both boys were pointing up at Severus, waving manically and jeering at the balloon headed boy.

"Potter!" Lily screeched his name so loudly that some students even turned away from watching Severus to stare at her. "You get Sev down this instant!" James, however, hadn't heard the witch and continued to joke around with Sirius.

"Potter!" she repeated as she began to march towards the idiotic boy. "Didn't you hear me? I said, get – Severus – down – NOW!"

"Why hello Lily," he said happily, hardly flinching at her brash, loud voice. "Is something wrong?"

"Just get him down, Potter," Lily said, her brazen demeanour faltering slightly as she realised half the student population was now in a stunned silence, watching in on their conversation. Even Severus had stopped panicking to listen- his arms no longer flailing in the air.

"And how would we be able to do that, Evans?" Sirius asked in a false, polite voice with an innocently sweet smile.

"Well I don't know, or else I would have already done it."

James grinned at her. "Well, Lily, if your good self- the cleverest witch in our year- can't get him down, then what chance do mere mortals such as ourselves have?"

"Because you're the ones who inflated his head!"

"Oh no, Lily, Severus has always been big headed and has always had an inflated and overbearing ego. We had nothing to do with that."

"You know what I meant," she growled.

"Maybe we do, maybe we don't. But alas, the fact remains that we can't deflate it."

"Why are you being like this, Potter?" she said incredulously. "We're supposed to be friends." She knew that they had fallen out the previous evening, but even so, he had no right to treat her like this. Even when he had been tipping her out of the boat, James had never acted this rudely or immaturely towards her. She suspected immediately that Black had influenced this character change in some way, automatically rejecting the idea that she was part of the cause for having hurt his feelings and their friendship.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," James said, "But then you go and believe some blood purist who hexes muggleborns for fun over me."

"Some blood purist?" Lily repeated angrily. "I think you mean one of my best and oldest friends!"

"Lily, calm down." Lily felt Marlene place her hand on her shoulder. "My cousin is not worth getting worked up over- he's an idiot. And look, Severus' head is starting to deflate and I'm fairly sure that he's starting to come down." Indeed, Severus had begun to descend. He was still a way above them, but it wouldn't take long until his feet were firmly planted on the ground. Satisfied with this knowledge, Lily allowed herself to take a few, deep breaths before returning to talk to Potter.

"James," she said, hoping the use of his first name would incite peace. "I am sorry if you are upset that I believed Severus over you, but I have known him a lot longer and he has never even once tried to tip me out of a boat-"

"Lily, you know I'm sorry about that!"

"Still," she said, giving him a look. "That one thing isn't the point. It's the fact that you take every opportunity you can to make fun out of others. It's bullying, James, and it's not right."

"And the difference between what I did, and what you and your friends did when you gave us long hair, makeup and made us spend the day in dresses, is?" James said, raising his eyebrows.

"You deserved that," she said, though the slight wobble in her voice gave away her uncertainty.

"Face it Lily, you're just as bad as I am," James said.

"I am not! Like I said, you deserved it, but what has Severus ever done to you?" She said, temper slowly reigniting.

James opened his mouth and closed it, obviously reluctant to tell her what the Slytherin boy had done to upset him. "I don't want to have another argument," James said simply, turning away. "Goodbye, Lily."

"No! Potter! Get back here!" Lily yelled, utterly put out that James had decided to leave mid conversation.

"See you in the next lesson, Lily," he called back, still not turning around to look at her as he exited the Great Hall. She stared after him, trying to decipher the boy's weird behaviour.

"Just ignore him," Marlene said.

Lily nodded. "Sorry Marlene, I'm just, you know…"

"Annoyed?"

"Yeah, just a little bit. Look, you, Allie, and Martie go on to the next lesson. I'll meet you there; I just think that I should wait for Sev to come down." She gestured up towards Severus who was still hanging in the air, head yet to fully deflate. The majority of the other students had eventually grown bored of the prank and her and James' argument, finished their breakfast and left, Severus' Slytherin friends included.

"Okay, Lily," Marlene nodded, "I'll save you a seat."

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><p><strong>AN: so... was that a weird place to end it? hmm.. I've tried re-writing it, but it just wont... come out? Anyways :) what did you think of the chapter? I think it's my longest yet so.. um.. yay me? aha :) gah, sorry, I'm in a little bit of a weird mood : but yeh, I would absolutely love to know what you think- please feel free to be as negative (and hopefully constructive) and nit-picky in the reviews as possible, I want to learn how to be a better writer and it would really help :) also I was now planning on jumping forward to christmas (I have something big planed! - yes, you heard right, I, millie-mae, have actually planned something in advance!), but then I remembered that I havn't written about Halloween.. :/ soo do I ignore Halloween for this year or do you want the marauders first big prank (i.e. halloween) and then christmas (which won't involve pranks or staying at Hogwarts) basically as I'm writing about christmas either way, do you want an extra prank/chapter or for me to get on with the story? please, please tell me so I can get on with it :) **

**~millie-mae**

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><p><em>this chapter was dedicated to the incredible Potterhead1997 for reviewing and the fantastic Dndchk for beta-ing <em>


	33. Packing

As the days grew colder, quickly transforming the weeks into months, James and Lily's relationship continued to spiral drastically downhill.

It wasn't his fault though, James thought to himself, jamming yet another unnecessary item into his heavily packed suitcase as he prepared, in a rushed fashion, for the Christmas holidays. He had, in fact, tried very hard to make amends. Their broken relationship was entirely Lily's fault. She was the one who had chosen to believe Snivillus over him, she was the one who had refused speak to him for an entire week after the 'Inflatable Head Incident', and she was the one who had rejected his numerous and flamboyant apologies. James was at loss as to why his often effective methods of excuse hadn't worked- each and every singing chocolate and heartfelt note failing to win her over. Although even he had to admit that, in retrospect, charming the notes and chocolates to follow Lily around and nudge her every few minutes (resulting in a pot of dark ink being knocked over her carefully crafted, five page, several thousand word transfiguration essay) was a bad idea. Still, the spell had taken three frustrating hours to master and surely it was the thought that counted? It appeared, however, that this rule was not applicable to Lily Evans as their relationship had remained as cold as the weather around them.

"You finished packing yet James?" Sirius stuck his head around the dormitory door, giving his friend a mock scornful look. "We need to be ready to leave in an hour."

"Yeah, pretty much," James said, beginning to scout under the bed for any lost socks.

"I told you that you should have packed last night," Sirius said, tuting at his messy haired friend. "I told you that leaving packing till the last day was a bad idea, but did you listen?"

"Shut up Sirius."

"Did you listen?" Sirius repeated, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"No," James sighed, rolling his eyes as he continued the hunt for missing socks.

"No you did not- OI!" Sirius yelped, recoiling from an item James had just thrown at him. "Fine! If you don't want my help!"

"What help?" James said, but he was too late for Sirius to hear as the boy had promptly slammed the door shut, his heavy footsteps already making their way away from the dormitory, audibly signifying his departure. James sighed again; he really should have packed last night.

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><p>Lily sat on the edge of her bed, looking at the mess of clothes on the floor she had yet to pack.<p>

"The clothes aren't going to pack themselves Lily," Marlene said dryly. The young girl was spread lazily across her bed, watching her friend with an odd look caught somewhere between boredom and amusement.

"Are you sure about that? Maybe if I just stare at them long enough…"

Marlene gave a short laugh as Lily looked determinedly at the clothes. "Just get up and pack them you lazy sausage. I really don't know why you haven't done it yet- you're meant to be The Organised One."

"The Organised One?" Lily repeated dubiously.

"Yes, so get on with your packing or you will miss the train, I think it leaves in about an hour."

Lily's eyes quickly snapped to the clock that hung on the wall. She hadn't realised the time.

"Sugar," she muttered, promptly sliding off the bed, landing with a small thud on the wooden floor. She quickly grabbed at every item in reach, haphazardly folding it before stuffing it into her suitcase. Marlene was right: she should have packed earlier. Even James wouldn't have left it this late. Not that she would have known. She didn't really speak to James anymore.

"Seriously though Lily, why haven't you packed yet?"

"I just haven't had time I guess." This was only partly true. Whilst Lily was indeed a lot busier with homework and clubs than the other girls (she was determined to find out as much as possible about wizarding life and traditions to compensate being muggleborn), there had been a three hour gap last night between dinner and bedtime when she could easily have packed her things for the Christmas holidays. But she hadn't. Instead she had sat, staring at her stuff, dreading leaving the school. It wasn't that she didn't want to go home - whilst she was dreading seeing Petunia, she couldn't wait to see her parents – it was more that she felt as though something was ending. She knew that this was silly, it would, after all, only be a few weeks before she came back to Hogwarts, but she just couldn't shake the feeling.

"I can't wait till you see what I've got you for Christmas," Marlene said, pulling Lily out of her thoughts. "You are going to adore it."

"Same," Lily said with a smile. "I sent an owl to my parents yesterday with exact instructions on what to buy for you and the rest of the girls- I just couldn't risk them selling out."

"Did I tell you Allie can come, her mum finally agreed to let her leave the shop early."

"Brilliant," Lily beamed. Marlene had invited her, Allie and Martie to go to a Christmas Eve party at the Potter's and, whilst Lily had originally been hesitant about accepting due to the obvious problem of Potter's attendance, Marlene had quickly sold it to her with beautifully detailed tales of dancing ice sculptures and enchanted snow. "I can't wait to see your house!"

"Well the actual party will be held at James' house," Marlene said as Lily continued to pack, "But I'm sure we can take a quick visit to mine during it- no one will notice if we slip away for a moment or two."

"But I thought your house was up in Scotland whilst Potter's is near London?"

"You've found out where my cousin lives? I thought you were trying to avoid him- not stalk him," Marlene said dryly, a wicked smile playing on her lips.

"The address was on the invitation," Lily said quickly. "And I never said I was trying to avoid him."

"Well you are."

"Am not."

Marlene raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure about that?"

"You still haven't answered my previous question- how are we getting to your house?"

Marlene sighed. "Fine, change the subject. Floo Powder."

"Huh?"

Marlene sighed again and began to tell Lily about the Floo network as the young redhead continued to pack.

"-Are you done yet?" Marlene asked, interrupting her own explanation.

"Yep, pretty much," Lily said, negotiating the final top into the tangle of clothes tucked inside the suitcase. "Right, done."

"Great," Marlene grinned, swinging her legs around and leaping off her bed. "Let's go!"

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><p><strong>AN: It's apology time! yey! aha... yeah, sorry :( <strong>

**Genuinely, I am so, so, so, so sorry as this meaningless chapter has taken about a month to write and upload. I am a bad, bad fanfiction writer for making you wait so long and I am honestly so sorry. The reason for this drought of chapters is, of course, school. And, as school isn't going away soon, I am afraid to say that yeah, this is possibly going to be the norm for a while. Basically I'm now in year 11 (gcse year) and go to a school that actually tries to kill you with the amount of work (I have had three different english essays in the last three weeks alone). On top of this I am in two different plays at the moment, meaning that on average I am rehearsing for three or four school nights (out of the five) a week after school. I also do drama every saturday (which I have to have to learn stuff for) and am going to be trying out for the national youth theater this year (so am starting to think about learning something for that). I am also going to be taking my school's scholarship exam and performance award exam soon so I also need to start preparing for that. I also (suprising) have a social life and a (very bad) cold (don't know why I grouped these things together- illness doesn't tend to attract friends) so yeah, squeezing in time to write this is near impossible :( BUT PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP ON ME :) I have every intention to finish writing this story, it just might take a while (after January things should ease up). Also, be proud, I have moved the story on to christmas (ok, ish) ! and important things will finally happen in the next chapter :D**

**I would just like to give a massive thankyou to every single person who commented while I wasn't posting regularly - it's you guys who made me realise that I need to get my act together and write something :) also, if you're ever worried that I've given up or abandoned fanfiction then please just send me a PM and I will reply, hopefully putting any doubts or worries to bed :)**

**And finally thank you for reading this and sticking with me, I will try and update soon, but yeah, don't hold your breath (you will almost certainly die) :)**

**~millie-mae**

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><p><em>This chapter is dedicated to the amazing reviewers: Mooney fan, Chousi, Sush<em>_Sam, Splash of Silver on Mountain, Farali B, Nessie2000, purple sky always. Thank you honestly so, so much._


	34. 9:23

**9:23pm 25t****h**** December 1971 – Potter Mansion**

James didn't quite feel the first of his tears run its steady path down his cheek. He was too numb. Too shocked by the news to even begin to understand it or his emotions. A heavy silence swamped the room as each guest, still donned in festive attire, sat still. More salty water brimmed over James' eye lashes, trickling under the frames of his glasses to land heavily onto the wooden table. The table was still laden with a vibrant, happy Christmas dinner. The joyful festivities were now brazenly out of place, serving only as a cold reminder of what a happy and warm Christmas it was meant to have been.

**9:23am 25****th**** December 1971 – Potter Mansion**

'Marlene!' James shouted gleefully as he ran down a flight of marble stairs. They were covered in a sharp and vivid array of Christmas decorations. 'Marlene, are you up yet? It's Christmas – you're not allowed to be lazy!'

'I'm sorry, who are you accusing of being lazy?' Marlene said dryly as James turned into the main living area where Marlene sat under a great Christmas tree, surrounded by copious presents, each wrapped delicately in the finest array of wrapping-paper.

'Did you start without me?' James said sharply, looking immediately for the telltale signs of ripped paper.

'No,' said Marlene plainly, throwing James a present. 'But I wanted to,' she added, shooting James a wicked grin. 'Ok, so your mum said we can open our presents from Farther Christmas now, but we should wait to open all the others.'

James let out a groan, casting a wistful stare at the presents under the tree he knew he was not yet allowed to touch. 'What about the presents we're giving to each other?' he asked suddenly, a hopeful tone entering his voice, 'We're always allowed to open those first.'

'Yes, but not this year.'

James frowned. 'Why-'

'Because our friends are coming and we've got gifts for them too and it's nicer to open them altogether,' Marlene said, repeating almost word for word the answer that James' Mother had repeatedly given him. 'Understand?'

'Understood. When are they coming again?'

It was Marlene's turn to let out an exasperated groan. 'Merlin James, do you have a brain inside that overly inflated head of yours?'

'Yes,' James said indignantly, 'when are they coming?'

'From 3 to 5 pm.'

'Thank you for finally answering the question.'

'You're welcome.'

'Who's coming again?'

'JAMES, for Merlin's sake!' Marlene shouted, causing James to start laughing.

'Shall we just open our presents?' he said lightly, greatly amused by the anger he had caused his cousin.

'Yes James, that's a wonderful idea.'

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><p><strong>AN: So it's been a... while. Sorry. Basically life got a bit tough (not that tough though - don't go feeling sorry for me) so I kept delaying and delaying and delaying writing another chapter until I'd almost forgotten about it and fan-fiction altogether as my mind has been so filled with other things. I would just like to thank you for the continued support I have received in my absence, and apologise for not answering any private messages or reviews. I had time on my hands today for the first time in so, so long and thus decided to log in to have a look for a quick story to read. Instead I ended up reading all of your wonderful, inspiring and helpful reviews (which is actually quite egotistical of me, now that I think about it) and ended up wanting to continue this story. I wrote this very quickly so I apologise for its shortness and the poor quality (I will probably update it with a much better version within the next few weeks). So yeah, basically are you still interested? Like I said this is a poor, short chapter so I promise that if I continue the chapters will be much longer and of better quality (well, I can promise to try at least). So yeah, sorry again for leaving you for so long without any indication of when I was going to come back. I'm not going to be able to say when I'll find time to write the next chapter (although I hope to do it within the next week) and I can't promise you that I won't drop off the face of the planet again. I do however promise to try and make sure I always come back and that I will, hopefully, finish this story eventually (even if it takes until 2050 or something ridiculous).<strong>

**So thank you, I'm sorry and goodbye x**

** _~millie-mae_**

**_PS: _does this chapter make any sense? I've just read it back and whilst I know what's going on, I'm not sure if anyone else will get it? Hmmm... **

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><p><em>This chapter is dedicated to anyone who's stuck with me up until this point (so you basically :) well done you, you sexy<em> _thing you_)_ because, let's face it, I don't deserve you wonderful (and sexy) people._


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